A TRADITIONAL leader says he has temporarily shelved plans to conduct a witch hunt to solve the mystery of a whole village of women who woke up without their knickers.
Chief Njelele of Gokwe abandoned the plan after one of his aides was involved in a bizarre mishap – spreading a fresh wave of terror in the troubled community.
Local headman Pauro had gathered villagers to discuss plans to bring a “prophet” to smoke out the suspected wizard who nicked the panties when a huge owl swooped just feet away and grabbed a mature male dog with its claws before disappearing in the distance.
Owls are associated with witchcraft and evil in superstitious Africa.
Chief Njelele said he feared whoever was behind the mysterious disappearance of the 26 undergarments – which were later found in a heap in the woods – was sending a warning.
“I had tasked the two village heads, Pauro and Charuseka, to meet their subjects with the aim of inviting a traditional healer to cleanse their areas,” the chief said.
“I then saw village head Pauro coming to my homestead with more strange news that a huge owl came flying from nowhere before picking up a male dog at his homestead and flew away while they were at a meeting.
“It’s mind boggling what is going on in the area.”
Now Chief Njelele says he is gathering a panel of wise men including other traditional leaders from neighbouring communities to try and bring peace to his troubled community.
Chiefs Nemangwe and Chireya will arrive for consultations this week.
According to Chief Njelele, on July 11 “the majority of women” in two local communities under village heads Pauro and Chariseka went to sleep with their panties on – but mysteriously woke up in the nude.
Seventeen women later positively identified their underwear in the presence of the police.
The chief explained: “Some have burnt the recovered panties while others said they would perform some rituals before disposing them.
“I am keeping the remaining nine at my own risk because as the leader, there is nothing I can do.”
Chief Njelele said he had received calls from women’s campaign groups who were planning a visit to the area, with plans to provide counseling and other support to the affected women.
Gokwe police said following discussions with the local leaders, they had decided to leave the community to find a traditional solution to the problem.
WOMEN in two villages in Gokwe, Midlands Province, are resting easy this weekend after the mystery of vanishing knickers was finally solved.
Local man Lumeck Ncube, 62, shocked neighbours after admitting that his “rogue” goblin was behind the mysterious disappearance of 26 panties overnight on July 11.
The women went to sleep in their underwear but woke up in the nude. The mystery only deepened when all 26 panties were discovered in a heap, dumped in the woods.
The goblin was captured, and then set on fire, in front of several hundred villagers during a witch-hunt organised by Chief Njelele on Wednesday.
An inyanga was brought in from Hwange and a self-styled prophet from an apostolic sect joined the cleansing ceremony.
The two men quickly identified Ncube as the source of the villagers’ troubles, forcing him to admit that he kept a goblin at his home.
The two witch hunters, Ncube, Chief Njelele and six aides then left the cleansing ceremony and proceeded to Ncube’s home where a goblin was retrieved from one of the bedrooms.
Correspondents described a "very short, decorated, human-like creature wearing blue female panties". Silvia Marumbe, the wife of the village headman, identified the underwear as hers.
Marume told the gathered crowd that her panties vanished in 2004 – suggesting the goblin had been at it for nearly a decade.
The creature was later burnt before the huge crowd as police were forced to step in to protect Ncube from being physically attacked.
Ncube said he bought the goblin in Chakari, near Kadoma, in 1983 while working in Kwekwe.
"When I bought this goblin, my purpose was to improve my luck in life,” he told the crowd. “I wanted to get promoted at my work as well as acquiring wealth but the goblin did not perform to my expectations.”
The goblin had turned “rogue”, showing a growing appetite for sex and women’s lingerie.
“We were no longer on good terms (with the goblin),” he added.
Chief Njelele, who sought police permission to conduct the witch hunt warned: "People in my area need to behave and desist from engaging in witchcraft. Because of this strange missing panties saga, my area is now known the world over for the wrong reasons, which is a shame.