Scandalmongers suck it up

As a people, South Africans are so hungry for a scandal that they will suspend all sense of reality in order to grasp at salacious straws that explain the lives of the rich and obscenely wealthy through the lenses of witchcraft and religious cults.

This past week, the topic spread like wildfire after author and self-proclaimed activist Jackie Phamotse turned over a new leaf as a commentator on issues of a spiritual nature. In keeping with her field of interest – the underbelly of the world of transactional sex – Phamotse touched on the topic of cults and the practice of selling one’s soul in exchange for wealth and “the good life”.

“Cults! How can we learn more about these? The point here is when you sell your soul for whatever price, you know when the end is near. “When you trade your soul for money, you are given a time period to enjoy the newfound wealth. “However, they take away your family & pure happiness. Your death will be horrific.

“You are also given a vision of your death. Wealth rituals are common and require blood,” posted Phamotse in a caption teaser for an Instagram livestream scheduled for later that evening.

Since then, Phamotse’s outlandish claims and the concept of ukuthwala have been all that anyone can talk about. So captured have been the imaginations of many that they even went on to imagine scenarios of their own, making unfounded claims and accusing others of being guilty of participating in the very thing Phamotse spoke about.

One such person was Zimbabwean socialite and businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, who died after a horrific road accident in Zimbabwe at the weekend. It is alleged that Kadungure had been driving under the influence and attempted to overtake a series of vehicles in a two-way street at night. He collided head-on with another vehicle and ended up succumbing to his injuries, along with three other people who were trapped inside his car when it exploded.

Due to the timing of Phamotse’s livestream and some of the very specific things she mentioned therein, it was assumed that Kadungure was among the people she was talking about. Phamotse’s viewers then spread the rumour that the accident was as a result of the sacrificial element of the rituals she spoke about.

With no definitive mention of his name and no proof of the aforementioned, a dead man has been accused of things he cannot answer to. Even the living, who have been dragged into this mess, can not shake off the witchcraft associations. While some of it may be said in a joking manner, for the most part, there are a large number of people who genuinely believe that rich people of colour can only become rich through things like theft, corruption and witchcraft.

As real as theft and corruption are, some people would sooner believe in the unproven occult than they would in the proven criminal activity that the rich sometimes participate in. Having seen people lap up Phamotse’s claims, without so much as a shred of evidence, has been one of the most disappointing occurrences of the past week.

Kaunda Selisho.

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