Excorcism Quenches Mystery Fires At Botswana Girls School
[Original headline: Exorcism Held At Girls Boarding School]
A girls boarding school in Botswana was forced to seek the church's help this week after mysterious fires destroyed five buildings and after reports that a tokoloshe (goblin) was harassing the girls.
The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) performed an exorcism on Sunday at Tlhalogang Community Junior Secondary School, 40km from Francistown, Botswana's second large city.
The church, which combines Christian and African beliefs, has a large following in Botswana where most people believe in witchcraft and the power of evil spirits.
The school has experienced weekly fires since early June that gutted four hostels and a dining room, while some girls complained that an invisible man, or tokoloshe, was caressing their bodies, slapping them or pulling their hair.
State forensic experts have failed to explain the cause of the fires, said headmaster Henry Dlodlo.
He believes a student may be responsible for setting them, but he cannot explain the tokoloshe complaints. The local community insisted that an exorcism be performed.
"We live in a community that have different beliefs and I could not stop the parents from ordering that the school be cleansed," Dlodlo explained.
The ceremony lasted three hours, attracting a horde of onlookers.
"We called in the faith healers (ZCC) because we wanted to see what was causing the fires," said Tshepo Morange, a member of the school committee
The initial exorcim did not work on Sunday, and the exorcists spent the night.
By Tuesday, there were no more reports of strange happenings, said the school's boarding master, Wetsho Morakanyane.
• Story originally published by:
African Eye News Service (Nelspruit) via allAfrica.com | Marvelous Mpofu + Selebi Phikwe - July 04.02
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