Evil Spirits Said to Haunt Classrooms
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TSHOLOTSHO, Zimbabwe — Headmasters in several schools in northern Matabeleland province are hiring witch doctors in defiance of the law to exorcise evil spirits from classrooms and teachers’ homes, the Zimbabwe Inter-African News Agency said Wednesday.
Residents believe in the spirits, known locally as Tokoloshi, and local government and education officials last week told visiting Cabinet ministers about the problem, the news agency said.
They also complained that under the Witchcraft Suppression Act, it is illegal for Ngangas, or witch doctors, to search for the spirits.
They appealed to their representative in Parliament, Youth, Sport and Culture Minister David Kwidini, to lobby the Justice Ministry for amendments to the law.
The news agency quoted a police officer as saying that rumors were sweeping the area about ghosts and spirits, and he had challenged residents to produce evidence of them.
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