Man set on fire during witch hunt

Man set on fire during witch hunt

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By Lebo Nkatazo

A ZIMBABWEAN man was doused with methylated spirit and set on fire by a self-proclaimed "prophet" during a witch hunting ceremony, reports said.

Police in the southern town of Beitbridge, on the border with South Africa, say they have arrested the "prophet" -- a 22-year-old man identified as Mqondisi Moyo.

The bizarre incident came after the mysterious disappearence of window panes at a school in the Kafusi area on October 22 this year, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.

The paper said Moyo, a member of the Zion Church, told villagers that he could smoke-out the thief.

The report says Moyo gathered villagers and doused them with methylated spirit and water.

"He then went around each of them with a burning match stick, saying the culprit would catch fire," the report said.

"When he got to Uthoile Moyo, he caught fire and sustained serious burns all over the body. A report was made to police, resulting in Uthoile Moyo's arrest."

The "prophet" has since appeared before a magistrate in the Matabeleland South provincial town of Gwanda on charges of "employing non-natural means to investigate crime", the Herald said.

He will next appear in court on Wednesday this week.
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