Sources told NewsDay that the 15
year old girl who stays with her grandmother in Entumbane-was
reportedly caught with a “mysterious book” in class which was suspected
to be a Satanism booklet.
“When the book was discovered,
the girl immediately fainted prompting seven other pupils who were
holding her and trying to revive her to also faint one after the other,”
said the source.
Following the incident, the
school hurriedly convened a meeting with parents and the councillor for
the area Prince Dube yesterday morning to discuss the incident.
Speaking during the meeting one of the parents said the issue ought to be taken seriously.
“We have been hearing about such
things from other places such as Cowdray Park(in Bulawayo) and we never
took them seriously but now it has come to us and we have to act
fast,” he said.
Another resident said it was
possible the girl who fainted first was possessed by some spirit and
this had affected people around her.
“The girl’s grandmother should be
called to explain the strange things affecting her child,” said the
woman during yesterday’s meeting.
Some parents said the incident
could be connected to the use of the school for church services by
different denominations during weekends.
“Thirteen churches use classrooms
over the weekends and exorcise people of demons here,” said another
parent who only identified himself as Hadebe.
He said the spirits exorcised by
these churches might be the ones now affecting children “as they would
have remained in the classrooms”.
Cllr Dube said they were yet to
look at reports from the clinic where the girl was taken for treatment
and the police to whom the matter was reported.
“So far we have agreed to hold
another meeting with residents and spiritualists to discuss a way
forward,” he said. “This is a learning institution so we would not want
to create further alarm and panic that will affect our children who
will end up scared of attending classes.”
Contacted for comment Bulawayo
police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo yesterday confirmed
receiving a report on the incident.
“We have received the report but
we have not labelled it as a criminal case,” he said. “We are checking
how the situation progresses as it is a social problem which has
affected the community that we are policing.”
During yesterday’s school meeting
some parents suggested that a cleansing ceremony be done at the school
by prophets, even if it means paying them to remove evil spirits.
A relative of the girl said the
15 year old girl recently came from South Africa with a “suspicious
tattoo” on her shoulder .which she declined to explain its origins.
No comments:
Post a Comment