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Zimbabwe 'witches' to have medical tests

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Zimbabwe 'witches' to have medical tests

3News NZ

(Reuters)

(Reuters)

Court officials in Zimbabwe say two self-confessed witches who claim to have flown on a magical grain threshing basket are to undergo medical and psychiatric examinations.

Prosecutors said two women were arrested earlier this month after they were found naked in the yard of a home in the town of Chinhoyi, 110km northeast of Harare. The women are charged under witchcraft laws carrying the penalty of a fine.

In local belief, the flat, traditional hand-held winnowing basket is equivalent to a witch's broomstick in Western fable.

Officials said a Chinhoyi court set another hearing for July 11 to hear medical reports and testimony from tribal healers.

The middle aged women claimed the basket "ditched" them in the yard after a naked night ritual nearby.

Belief in witchcraft and tribal superstition is common in Zimbabwe.

AP

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