Herbalist scams woman out of her pension?

Beware of spiritual healers (herbalists), says a woman who was recently scammed out of her pension payout of half a million rand. The 49-year-old African woman, who is a single mother of three, learned her lesson the hard way after consulting a herbalist to help her business venture prosper.

“They mislead and promise the world, but in actual fact, they rip you off and steal your last cent,” said the traumatised woman (who would like to remain anonymous) during an exclusive interview with the Ladysmith Gazette.

As a former Department of Education employee, she resigned from her job and wanted to start up her own business. She was prompted to consult a local herbalist after reading his advert in which he said he could make a business prosper. With the advertisement in mind, she decided to visit his business premises in the CBD.

It is believed that during the consultation with the herbalist, the woman explained her situation, her pension payout and wanting to get her own business off the ground. The herbalist allegedly prophesied that her ancestors were blessing her with luck and that the luck was heading her way. The woman then claims she heard a “spirit voice” asking if she wanted to see the gift from her ancestors. Suddenly, money appeared in a crate. The disembodied voice, that seemed to be coming out of thin air, then said that the money (in the crate) had to be brought to her home and kept in a suitcase.

The following day, a man arrived at her house with a suitcase.

“He opened it and money was neatly stacked from top to bottom. We both counted it and it amounted to R6 million. The suitcase was locked and I was given the key.”

As per the instructions from the herbalist and the spirit voice, the woman had to withdraw her money once her pension was paid out and add that money to the cash in the suitcase.

“I maxed my limit at the bank every day and placed my withdrawal in the suitcase,” explains the woman.

During this time, prayers and rituals were conducted. Upon her last cash withdrawal, she had to contact the herbalist, as he said they needed to do a final prayer in order for her business to prosper.

After the last withdrawal, the woman unsuccessfully tried to contact him. After three attempts failed telephonically, the woman became annoyed and decided to open the suitcase, as she was in need of money.

“When I opened the suitcase, I was horrified to see that instead of my hard-earned cash, the suitcase was full of photocopy paper cut into the size of bank notes and wrapped in white cloth,” she explains.

What happened to the money she was locking away on a daily basis is still a mystery.

A case has been opened at Ladysmith police station and SAPS are investigating.