Can witchcraft really hinder success?

As a black person born in the rural area of Bushbuckridge, I grew up in a God-fearing family and in our community we were told a lot of stories about witchcraft and witches.

According to the English dictionary, witchcraft is the practice of magic, especially for evil purposes. It involves the use of spells.

Why am I touching on the ancient issue of witchcraft in today’s modern world? Because I just realised that many people from my home village of Marite still believe in witchcraft and they have so much fear of being bewitched.

I recently went home for a holiday where I met family members and friends – especially those I have not seen for many years.

In our culture, when everybody is back for a long weekend or festive season, we gather in a particular household to catch up and talk about our failures and successes.

ALSO READ: Seven sentenced to life for burning women accused of witchcraft in the Eastern Cape

When I arrived last week, I found my home boys gathered under the shelter of a huge mango tree, sipping their favourite beers.

Some were enjoying traditional beers.

Allow me to not divulge what kind of a drink I had in my hand as we were updating one another about the progress and failure in our lives.

We all celebrated with those who are doing well in life and comforted and encouraged those who are not doing too well.

Then a moment arrived when I asked about those who failed to join us under the tree.

ALSO READ: Another elderly person accused of witchcraft killed within a week

One fellow told me that our friends’ lives were on hold, as many of them were unemployed.

Some were even in jail.

And the guy who was telling us about our friends’ mishaps attributed all their failures to witchcraft.

Even those who were arrested because they committed crimes.

According to him, witchcraft made them do it.

ALSO READ: Gogo Maweni’s witchcraft podcast draws mixed reactions

As he was busy updating us you could see the fear in his face – as if one of the witches were listening.

As an African man, I agree that things associated with witchcraft do exist but I think somehow those who have too much fear of it are putting themselves in a position where they even fail to think straight.

They feel powerless, instead of putting more effort into achieving their goals.

I must not be misunderstood or taken out of context on this issue, because I don’t judge those who believe that witchcraft exists and blame those powers for standing in the way to their success.

But what surprised me was that most of the people that my friend said were victims of witchcraft were people who did not have clear visions and were not willing to try new things.

ALSO READ: Seychelles opposition leader charged in witchcraft probe

As Africans who believe that witchcraft can make us fail in life, I still believe it is imperative to have positive thinking.

Try to remain focused and get rid of the fear of witchcraft and other associated issues.

Personally, I don’t believe witchcraft has the power to stop people from succeeding in life. I think it is all in the victim’s mind as they believe they are being bewitched.

That is where they will start losing enthusiasm for working hard toward achieving their goals.

While growing up, I saw people killing one another due to witchcraft allegations, although no-one could produce substantial evidence to prove it.

ALSO READ: Belief, law and medicine collide in Ivory Coast ‘magic’ case

But then again: well-known traditional healer Ibrahim Khoza, director of the Shobo Elikhulu Institute of Spiritual Healing, has confirmed in an interview that witchcraft does exist and has a potential to destroy someone’s future…