The girl, a grade six pupil at Magene Primary School in Limpopo, the northern most province of South Africa, became the witchdoctor’s second wife following their wedding earlier this month. Her mother, 57, accepted a R5,000 dowry (£350) in exchange for her daughter who was said to ‘faint at any time’ until she started treatment with the healer, known in South Africa as a ‘sangoma’.
The bride is reported to have fallen ill in 2010 as a result of her epilepsy but her condition was said to have improved after her two year course of treatment with her future husband. ‘We took her to the sangoma, where she underwent treatment for two years. And she was healed,’ her mother told the Sowetan. After giving the girl, who is 44 years his junior, a check-up, he told her family that she was being troubled by ancestors and that she needed to be closely monitored. He then offered to marry her and monitor her himself, an offer her family felt unable to refuse.
The bride is reported to have fallen ill in 2010 as a result of her epilepsy but her condition was said to have improved after her two year course of treatment with her future husband. ‘We took her to the sangoma, where she underwent treatment for two years. And she was healed,’ her mother told the Sowetan. After giving the girl, who is 44 years his junior, a check-up, he told her family that she was being troubled by ancestors and that she needed to be closely monitored. He then offered to marry her and monitor her himself, an offer her family felt unable to refuse.
‘We had no choice but to agree to his suggestion because we wanted her to be healthy,’ said the girl’s mother. The girl’s uncle said the family’s poverty meant they were unable to pay for treatment and saw the marriage as the only way to improve her condition. A concerned villager reported the marriage and the witchdoctor was arrested last week and charged with statutory rape, only for the charges to be dropped on the grounds that the girl’s family consented to the union.Mahwelereng police spokesman Captain Sebotsaro Motadi said: ‘We arrested the sangoma on Wednesday last week and he was supposed to appear in Mokerong Magistrate’s court the following day.’ Instead he was released the following day after the court ruled he had no case to answer. ‘It was on the basis of the court’s decision that we decided to leave the matter,’ Captain Motadi said.
The sangoma yesterday confirmed marrying the girl as his wife and said: ‘There was no use of force in the marriage. It was a mutual agreement between both families.’ The sangoma added that his culture allowed him to marry anyone over 12 years. Villagers expressed surprise at the girl’s marriage and despite disapproving they said there was little they could do because her family had agreed to it.One villager said: ‘We only hoped the police would rescue the young girl because we believe her rights have been violated.’
Source:Dailymail.co.uk
Source:Dailymail.co.uk
