Traditional healer gets life for “healing” patients by raping them
A traditional healer who “healed” his four bewitched male clients by raping them was sentenced to five life terms of imprisonment in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday.
National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the court was told that the traditional healer, from the Msinga area, approached the family of the youths with a “prophesy” that they would die if he did not cure them.
The four youths were then sent to the traditional healer’s home where he convinced them that sexual penetration was part of the cure to prevent the “prophecy of death” from becoming a reality.
“The incidents happened from July to August last year and the complainants, all males, were aged between 15 and 20 years old,” she said.
The traditional healer, who was not named, was sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment for each of the rapes and an additional 10 years for the rape of one of the youngsters.
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Ramkisson-Kara said that in the victim impact statements that were handed into the court, each of the youths told of the trauma they encountered during and after the ordeal.
“They said that they were teased by members of the community and felt depressed and alone. They mentioned that they no longer socialised and felt suicidal,” she said.