Residents in Ramocha near Rustenburg assaulted a so-called prophet and burnt her house down on Thursday night after paying her to protect them from a tornado that never came, North West police said.
Captain Elsabe Augoustides said more than 800 angry people had gathered at 43-year-old Dikeledi Njusa’s home, demanding she refund them their R2.
Njusa, also known as Masechaba, had apparently told residents a week ago that a massive tornado would destroy Rustenburg unless they gave her R2 each. This was to be paid to a water snake called Moeka to appease its spirit.
She gave locals until Sunday February 18 to pay. The money was to have been thrown into the Olifantsnek Dam, Hartbeespoort Dam and a river in Zakhele at a date to be indicated to her by the snake.
During Thursday night, disgruntled residents went to Njusa’s home, demanding a refund as they were not convinced that her prophecy was real.
They assaulted Njusa and her five children and burnt down her home as well as the one next door. A car in her yard was also set on fire. The woman and her children were admitted to hospital for treatment and will be placed under police protection.
No arrests have been made and police are investigating a case of public violence. — Sapa