News / Local

by Mafu Sithabile

Please donate! If Bulawayo24.com has helped you, please consider

Donate with PayPal If Bulawayo24.com has helped you, please consider donating a small sum to help cover the costs of bandwidth. Anything you can provide is appreciated, thanks!

A family from Bulawayo's Nketa 7 suburb dumped its tenant's "goblin" at the Tshabalala Police Station, sending cops fleeing in different directions.The incident occurred at about 8 pm on Wednesday.A family that claimed a lodger owned the goblin brought it to the station in a suitcase."We heard some screaming from the charge office and most officers who had knocked off rushed to see what was happening. At first everyone gathered around the suitcase, wanting to see what was inside," said a cop.The officer said a traditional healer who had come with the family opened the suitcase and a weird looking creature jumped out of a bottle that was filled with blood."No one told anyone it was time to run. One minute, the charge office was full, the next, it was empty. I think some people went out through the windows because we could not all have fitted through the door. Fat cops and slim cops all ran for their lives screaming," said the cop.Police officers gave differing versions about how the goblin looked. Some said it looked like am snake with the head of a dog and others said it was a dog with scales like a pangolin.They all agreed that it smelt terribly.The traditional healer is said to have overpowered the goblin and burnt it.Contacted for comment, Bulawayo deputy police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Bhekimpilo Ndlovu confirmed the incident."We are handling a case whereby a 34 year-old Emakhandeni man was brought to one of our police stations by members of the community following witchcraft suspicions. It is however, too early to conclude that it was indeed an act of witchcraft."However, the intelligence that we have gathered suggests that some criminal syndicate could be operating in a similar fashion in an attempt to trick people into parting ways with their money all in the name of cleansing their homes. We would like to urge people to be extra vigilant as we continue with our investigations," said Asst Insp Ndlovu.