Musoma massacre: A case of being bewitched by the dead

SIMBARASHE MSASANURI
(bongoblast)

THE cloud of death continues to hang upon Tanzania as a series of misfortunes are befalling wananchi. What is more disturbing, however, is that most of them are fatal while on the other hand the dawn of this year has never been rosy for this country as many bizarre incidents continue to claim lives of innocent people.

When disasters like these fall, many people are quick to point fingers and it is a general belief that nothing happens without a cause. Christians will tell you that satanists are wreaking havoc in this country and are on a mission to terrorize people so that they may backslide and turn their attention from God.

This will definitely work as most people usually blame God for the misfortunes and it is common among people to say that it was God’s will. Many people are often heard saying: “Hii ni kazi ya Mungu hivyo hatuna lakufanya”. Whether this is true or not dear reader, I leave it up to you but this to me seems a statement of surrendering or of giving up after being defeated probably by nature.

On the other hand, African traditionalists will be quick to point at witchcraft and taboos for all misfortunes that befall the society. This reminds me of a saying we used to lash out at a colleague who would have misbehaved.

If one of us did something we thought was absurd we quickly condemned him or her by saying that “umelogwa, na aliyekuloga amekufa,” which is literally translated as “you were bewitched by the dead”. This statement was pregnant with meaning as it meant that the person was beyond redemption and his behaviour was not only intolerable but the person who had bewitched him to an extent of acting that way had died.

This meant that if the witch was dead, then no one could cure this guy from his predicament because if the witch had not died maybe he/she would feel sorry for the poor guy and cure him.

In the same footing, I believe we definitely have been bewitched by the dead. If the witch was still alive then he/she could feel pity for us and save us from this predicament.

The midnight massacre in Mara where 17 people were murdered in cold blood is a sure sign that something is really wrong in this country. I am not talking about the recent road accidents, fire outbreaks that destroyed property worth millions of shillings and other minor misfortunes befalling people. They are too many to mention.

This horrific incident comes barely a month after gangsters gunned down 16 people and wounded 18 others in Ukerewe and Bunda districts.

What seemed like a normal night for three families in Mara Region turned out to be a nightmare after unidentified assailants invaded their houses, hacking to death 17, in an escapade believed to be a revenge mission.

The attacks which seem to have been aimed at wiping out the whole clan from the face of the earth were well organised as the assailants sneaked into the homesteads unnoticed killing everyone they came across.

Mara Regional Police Commander, Robert Boaz, confirmed the reports adding that those killed were from the same clan. Six were from the family of Morris Mgaya, three from Mgaya Nyarukende and eight from Kawawa Kinguye family.

According to him, the families are related in that the two (Mgaya and Kinguye) were brothers while Nyarukende was a cousin of theirs.

It was a somber mood in Mara as shocked villagers gathered to see the after effects of one of the most brutal murders in the history of the area. Business came to a halt, last Wednesday, in the area again as thousands turned to bury the butchered people.

“Some of those killed were beheaded or slashed with sharp objects. Showing that the killers were brutal indeed,” Boaz said, adding that the motive for the killings was not yet known. The Mara Regional Commissioner, Enos Mfuru, could not hide his grief and expressed shock at the sight of the hideous and inhumane acts.

Though the motive for the killings is yet to be established, Boaz hinted that the massacre might be linked to vendettas and revenge. Life will definitely not be the same for three orphans, who escaped with their lives as they are the only remaining members of the clan. No amount of help, financially or materially, will restore their happiness as they will have to live with the trauma for the rest of their lives.

Mara Region has for a longtime been a time bomb as clan clashes have become a common sight in this area. Though the clashes are usually linked to cattle rustling, incidences such as these are bound to happen.

The clan clashes and cattle rustling escapades usually create enmity among these clans prompting them to embark on revenge missions. It is unfortunate that the powers that be, who were supposed to find a lasting solution to the problem dilly-dallied and the clashes became perennial to an extent that they were fast becoming a way of life.

It is sad that those concerned had to wait for something like this to happen for them to act. In other words, they realized the need to end the clashes when it was already too late as the damage had already been done.

This greatly tarnishes the image of this country but once it's tarnished, we are the very first people to condemn those highlighting our problem. Some people who attended the burial ceremony in Buhare were quick to dismiss and condemn BBC World Service's news broadcast suggesting that killings like these were normal in Tanzania.

Whether the statement is true or not, I leave it for you dear reader to judge, but what I am really sure about is that with proper intervention methods such incidences are avoidable. And, the incidents lead to such reports being broadcast by international media organisation, soiling our image globally.

A permanent solution is therefore, needed especially by the power that be to avoid repetition of such savage acts. But, judging by the current events in this country, then whoever bewitched us is dead because most of the time tunasubiria kung'atwa na nyoka ili tujue anaua.

bongoblast@thisday.co.tz