James Hall
Swaziland’s Office of Public Prosecutions has announced a crackdown on diviners and traditional doctors who are capitalising on the fears of defendants in court cases to peddle “protection” that will win favourable judicial rulings.
“Traditional healers play an important role in the health of people in Swaziland and in my country,” says Director of Public Prosecutions Lincoln Ng’aura. “But some supposed diviners are defrauding confused people by claiming supernatural powers that can sway court cases and charging them for the service. I would like to think that if there are any bone fide diviners, they would not use their skills to defeat the ends of justice.”
Instead of hiring good lawyers to prepare their defences, criminal accused spend money on those traditional healers who say they can sway a magistrate’s judgement or cause a case to be postponed repeatedly until the crown drops the matter.
Ng’aura admits that justice for Swazis at one time was problematic, and during the colonial era Swazis might have felt justified to seek supernatural intervention against a legal system whose principal aim was to uphold white rule. But times have changed and the Ministry of Justice feels that defendants, if they are innocent, should put their faith in today’s legal system for their acquittal.
Advertisements by a Ugandan herbalist, Abdul Issa, claiming to get criminal defendants off the hook prompted the public prosecution crackdown. Issa proved beyond their jurisdiction. He works in Nelspruit.
In an interview with the local press, he expressed surprise at prosecutors’ consternation over his claim that he can make his clients win their court cases. He says South Africa is more tolerant and he has tacked up posters advertising his skills in the presence of unprotesting Mpumalanga police. Besides, said Issa, his main line is a potion that prevents spouses who contemplate infidelity from dating other people.
Nhlavana Maseko, who runs a group called the Traditional Healers Organisation, plays the royal card to counter potential prosecutions when he says only the king of Swaziland can say what traditional healers can and cannot do. To Maseko a person on trial for murder is there because of bad luck, not criminal intent, and should be cleansed of misfortune.
Sthanana Mbhamali of rural eastern Swaziland, as if daring prosecutors to come after him, announced that his treatments allow defendants to win their court cases. Mbhamali was going public in order to promote a mirror he says shows the viewer the face of any person who stole from him or her. The helpful 3cm-by-5cm mirror also reveals the hiding place of stolen cattle, says the diviner, who charges R500 a peek.
Prosecutors intend to use an 1889 witchcraft law that forbids the pretended use of supernatural powers for profit. Traditional healers loathe the law because it forbids the “smelling out” of witches, but does not criminalise witches themselves.
Ng’aura gives some history: “When the law was written by colonial authorities, it was presumed there were no such things as witchcraft or supernatural powers and the real danger came from claims of supernatural powers and attacks on alleged witches. Accused ‘witches’ were ipso facto innocent and their accusers were guilty.”
Dr Ben Dlamini, an official with the education ministry, condemns the law for outlawing legitimate traditional healers. “The law was an attempt to break down African culture,” he says.
Prosecutors are looking for a test case to try. If a diviner like Mbhamali can indeed win a court case through supernatural medicine, then he’ll be given his chance. The Office of Public Prosecutions says the effort is aimed at cutting down on fraud and eliminating predations against confused and superstitious people.