Cop explains sangoma’s ‘zombie’ scam
The cop who arrested the “Zombie Queen” had the court in stitches as he explained how the sangoma’s clients fell for her promises.
|||Cape Town - The cop who arrested the “Zombie Queen” had the court in stitches on Tuesday as he explained how the sangoma’s clients fell for her promises of resurrection.
But one woman in court was not laughing as she sat quietly waiting for the accused to give her a sign that her deceased daughter was actually alive and well and in matric.
Detective Constable Mphuthumi Bangele was testifying in the bail application of Nolowabo Mangele at the Stellenbosch Magistrates’ Court on two counts of fraud.
“According to information she operated in Kayamandi in 2008 as a traditional healer,” explained Bangele.
“She told her customers she saw in her prophecies where their dead people were and claimed she could raise them up.
“The complainants included one whose brother died and another whose wife died.
“They each paid deposits of R1 500 and R2 500.
“The accused phoned the complainants and said they could speak to their dead people but the second complainant was not convinced after his brother spoke Zulu when he was Xhosa from the Eastern Cape.”
This had everyone in court bursting into laughter.
Bangele explained he was opposing bail since he feared for the accused’s life because her angry customers wanted their money back and because he did not believe she would stay in Cape Town once released.
Mangele’s lawyer questioned if there was any proof of transactions between the accused and the complainants, to which Bangele said there were receipts, even though he did not have them in the docket.
One woman who kept her receipts was a 48-year-old Khayelitsha resident who says even though Mangele is in jail, she still believes her 24-year-old daughter was resurrected.
The woman, who asked not be identified, keeps a little book and wrote down monthly deposits she made to the accused as well as items of clothing, toiletries and make-up she bought for her ”zombie” daughter.
“I did keep the receipts, but not because I was suspicious, it was to show them to my daughter once she came back so she could see how much I loved her and took care of her,” she says.
“I was very surprised when I heard Sibongile had been arrested, she had told me recently that my daughter was in matric and doing well.
“You see, when my daughter died in 2013 she had failed matric and she said when she managed to enrol her into school the following year but she was pushed back to Grade 10.
“I don’t want to believe it was all a lie... muti works wonders and I hope she will tell or signal to me here in court that my daughter is alive somehow.”
The case continues today.
Daily Voice
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