Monday 19 March 2012 – Isolezwe
10th page Headline: Fake inyanga to appear in court
A Ghanaian man, who called himself an inyanga and who allegedly conned a Marianhill man out of R18700 (promising that the man would get a huge bundle of cash from the ancestors) will appear in court today.
This fake inyanga (26) was arrested on Friday by police from Durban Central, after a trap was set by the man who was conned out of his money, and whose story was reported not so long ago.
Last week Isolezwe reported the story of Mr Nkosinathi Shange of iNgwavuma, who was conned out of R45 000 (which was his pension money from quitting his job) by a fake inyanga.
A man who was conned, having followed what happened, has refused to have his name used because he said that the people back home didn’t know that he was in debt, or that he was penniless because he’d entrusted his money to an inyanga. He said that he was walking around Durban and took a newspaper from a street vendor.
“I looked at the paper and I turned to the back sections in order to find out how I could be cured of my bad luck. At the back it said that everything could be cured by me going to an inyanga,” said this man.
The man said that when he arrived at the inyanga’s and explained the problem he had at home, the inyanga said that there was bad muthi at the man’s homestead – and that he should bring R450 to him to sort it out.
“I brought this money and he then gave me an envelope which he said contained muthi. He said that when the muthi was used by me at home everything would come right, because the muthi would enter with me. He said that it was muthi to remove bad luck. When I opened the envelope I found R100. When I asked the inyanga about this he said that the ancestors had long been wanting to give me luck, but they didn’t know to whom to give it,” he explained.
He said that he went to buy something with the note, and it worked.
“After this I was taken into the inyanga’s office, blindfolded and struck by hands before I was told to open my eyes. When I opened them I saw a pile of money. The inyanga said that this money was all mine, but that I must first get a lion’s skin in which to gather up this money,” he explained.
The man said that he said it was impossible for him to get a lion’s skin. The inyanga said that there were people he knew who could get it, and that the man must bring R8000 in order to buy it.
“I actually went and borrowed this money and we went to go and fetch the skin. I didn’t see from home we were given the skin, as the door was opened only a crack. The inyanga then said that he needed R5000 for a cow to be sacrificed to the ancestors. I withdrew R2000. He said that I should bring R50 000 to gather the money but I gave him R8000,” he explained.
The man said that he was told that the money was sufficient, but began to suspect that there was some trickery going on. When he asked for his money he was told to wait 90 days and then return to fetch it.
“At this point it was said that I mustn’t tell a soul about this because my family (and I) would be murdered. I ended up reporting it to the police,” he explained.
Captain Khephu Ndlovu said that this inyanga had been charged with theft and fraud.
“People are warned about these fake izinyanga, and the police are cracking down on them because this one who was arrested is the fourth in two weeks here in Durban,” said Ndlovu.