A traditional healer, aged 32, is in police custody behind bars and awaiting a court appearance, after allegedly raping two women in two separate incidents.
He was arrested by officers from the Pinetown Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit in Durban on Monday this week.
The two cases were reported at KwaDabeka police station (near Durban), one in August and one in September.
Police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said the first woman, from Ixopo, said she had met the traditional healer in a taxi on her way to Port Shepstone.
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“While en route the traditional healer approached the woman and told her that he could see that her family was under a dark cloud and that he would have to go there and perform some sort of a traditional cleansing ceremony. The woman agreed and a date was arranged for him to go to her home at Ixopo where upon arrival, he performed a cleansing ceremony,” said Brig Naicker.
After he was done he told the family that he needed to take the woman with him to Durban for cleansing in the sea.
The family agreed and the traditional healer took her with him.
When they arrived, they went to Durban’s South Beach where a cleansing ceremony was performed before going to the woman’s house in Clermont.
It was here that the woman alleges that she was given a traditional concoction to drink by the man.
After drinking the concoction she then felt dizzy and passed out. When she woke up later she said she had been raped.
The second woman, a 27-year-old from Port Shepstone, alleged that the traditional healer had come to her home in Port Shepstone to perform a home cleansing ceremony.
“After he had completed the cleansing ceremony, he informed the family that he needed to take the 27-year-old with him back to Durban where he would further perform another cleansing on the woman,” said Brig Naicker.
“She was locked in the house for several days and the ordeal continued until she managed to escape and report the incident to the police,” he added.
The detectives from Pinetown FCS managed to lure the traditional healer, who had been somewhere in Empangeni, back to Durban where he was arrested.
He was charged with two counts of rape and will be appearing at the Pinetown Magistrate Court on today (Friday).
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