Smooth-talking sangoma makes man's life savings disappear
2016-06-01 11:02
Durban - A smooth-talking Durban sangoma has been accused of being so convincing that he managed to persuade a man to quit his job and hand over his entire life savings – only to have it vanish.
The bizarre tale began when the 34-year-old man approached the sangoma after experiencing problems at work.
Reaction Unit South Africa spokesperson Prem Balram said the welder had initially met the traditional healer in the Verulam CBD last year.
"At the initial consultation, the sangoma claimed that the victim’s life was in danger as someone at his place of work had used traditional medicine which would make him sick and eventually result in his death.
"The sangoma instructed the victim that if he wanted to live, then he should leave work. He also questioned him [with] regards to the value of his provident fund," Balram said.
The man then resigned from his job in December last year and continued consulting the sangoma.
"On one visit, the sangoma showed the victim a large box filled with R100 notes. He explained that if the victim wanted he could convert R140 000 of his pension into R4m," Balram added.
The man then handed over the cash to the healer, who then allegedly put the money into a safe and handed the locked safe back to the victim.
The sangoma allegedly told the victim that he needed to keep the key and that the safe could only be opened this month when a series of rituals were complete.
"Yesterday, the victim attempted calling the sangoma, who informed him that he has been arrested and required R5 000 for bail. The victim realised that something was amiss. He loaded the safe, which was sealed in its original packaging, into his vehicle and drove to RUSA’s Verulam Operations Centre. Reaction Officers looked into the safe through small mounting holes and confirmed it to be empty.
"The victim claimed to have known that the safe was empty, but felt embarrassed to inform his family that he had been duped," Balram said.
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