MHANGURA — In the rust-red dust of the Doma district, where the remnants of the once-mighty copper mines stand as silent monuments to a bygone industrial era, a different kind of shadow has fallen over the village of Nivana. For the Masauti family, the struggle is not against the economic decay that has gripped this corner of Mashonaland West, but against an ancient, spectral force that they believe has manifested in the form of a persistent, uncanny visitor: a baboon.
The story of the Masautis is one that bridges the gap between the modern world and the deep-seated traditional beliefs that still govern life in rural Zimbabwe. It is a tale of a fifteen-year-old girl, a mysterious illness, and a primate that refuses to behave like an animal. In the eyes of the locals under Chief Magonde’s jurisdiction, this is no ordinary wildlife encounter. It is a case of uroyi — witchcraft — and it has forced a family to abandon their ancestral home in a desperate bid for survival.
The Girl Who Fights Shadows
At the heart of this unsettling narrative is a young girl whose name has been withheld to protect her identity. For three years, she has been the battlefield for what her family describes as “unseen forces.” At just fifteen, she should be attending school or helping her mother with chores; instead, she spends her days in a state of terror, occasionally lashing out at invisible assailants.
“Usually, I don’t know what I’m doing. When it attacks me, I just feel like I’m running or fighting with unseen things. I once injured my arm in 2017, and it healed. Because of fighting people I cannot see, this arm has now broken again,” she told us, her voice barely a whisper.
Her brother, twenty-four-year-old Clayton Masauti, has watched his sister’s health deteriorate with a sense of helpless dread. He describes her affliction as having “traditional aspects,” a euphemism often used in Zimbabwe to describe spiritual or demonic possession.
“Our 15-year-old sister has been sick for a long time. She is afflicted by spirits or demons, and she starts throwing punches, fighting with someone we cannot see. She has already broken her arm as a result of fighting these unseen people,” says Clayton Masauti. He explains that because of this illness, after consulting prophets and traditional healers, they were told that the patient should leave home, which led them to temporarily move her to the homes of their sister and older brother.
The Baboon on the Path
The family’s fear reached a breaking point recently when a lone baboon began appearing at their homesteads. In Shona culture, the baboon is often viewed with suspicion. While it can be a symbol of wisdom in folktales, in the realm of the supernatural, it is frequently associated with zvidhoma — goblins or familiars sent by witches to do their bidding.
Clayton was the first to encounter the creature. He saw it emerging from his older sister’s house, the very place where the sick girl had been staying before the family moved her in an attempt to break the “curse.”
“Our sister has been sick for a long time. It has traditional aspects to it. The miracle that happened was that we then saw a baboon coming from the east, and it came to sit on a rock in the yard of our sister’s house where the patient used to stay, from where we had removed her and taken her to our brother’s house,” he recalled.
What followed was a display of behaviour that defied natural explanation. When the family tried to confront the baboon, throwing stones to drive it away, the animal showed no fear. It did not flee into the nearby bush. Instead, it stood up and began to walk along the exact road the family had used to transport the sick girl to her brother’s homestead.
“Some people who were at home came out of the houses to see the baboon in the yard. It then stood up on its own and started following the road we used to transport the patient to our brother’s house. There is a place where we rested when we had the patient. It also came and rested there,” Clayton says.
Upon reaching the second homestead, the baboon reportedly sat under a tree on another rock. The sight of the animal, calm and expectant, terrified the residents. “This troop of baboons went and sat under a tree, on a rock again, and the people who were there were frightened and came out of the house trying to chase it away. What is surprising is that this baboon did not move; it remained seated, which frightened the people. They then started scattering, fleeing from the house,” Clayton says.
The baboon then got up and peered into the house where the patient was, and then started walking westward.
A Community in the Grip of the Supernatural
To the Masauti family, the baboon’s behaviour was a clear confirmation of their worst fears. “Because of this behaviour, it became clear that this baboon belongs to witches. Others say they were goblins that had been sent, wanting to finish off our sister,” Clayton stated firmly.
Honest Masauti, the girl’s twenty-nine-year-old older sister, echoed this sentiment. She believes the family has been targeted by a curse placed at their parents’ original home. “We are clueless because since our sister became ill three years ago, many miracles have been happening at our home, including the appearance of this baboon. What we saw is not a baboon; the truth is that it is witchcraft,” she said.
The family’s patriarch has passed away, leaving their mother as the sole remaining elder. Under the advice of traditional healers and prophets, the siblings decided that the girl could no longer stay in Mhangura.
“Our father passed away; we are only left with our mother. The issue of our sister being told to leave home was discussed with traditional healers and prophets. It was said that if she remains at home, she will die,” says Honest Masauti. She explains that the reason their sister was told to leave home is that curses were allegedly placed at their parents’ home, causing the illness.
The Wider Context: Witchcraft in Modern Zimbabwe
The Masauti family’s experience is far from an isolated incident. Across Zimbabwe, the belief in witchcraft remains a potent social force, often leading to tragic consequences. Just earlier this year, in January 2026, reports emerged from other parts of the country of “witchcraft courts” where widows were put on trial, their grief exploited by unscrupulous traditional leaders and witch doctors.
In Gweru, a dispute over family witchcraft allegations recently ended in a horrific act of violence, with two young girls losing their lives. These incidents highlight a troubling pattern where the intersection of psychological distress, physical illness, and deep-seated superstition creates a volatile environment.
The phenomenon of “goblins” or animal familiars is a recurring theme in Zimbabwean news. From schools being closed due to “mysterious manifestations” to families being driven from their villages, the shadow of the supernatural looms large. In the case of the Masautis, the baboon served as a physical manifestation of a spiritual crisis that the family felt they could no longer manage on their own.
The Flight to the City
Driven by the omen of the baboon’s visit, the Masautis packed their few belongings and fled to the capital, Harare. “This baboon visit was said to be an omen, so spiritual people immediately told us to remove this patient from the homestead,” says Honest Masauti.
It was a journey born of desperation, undertaken without their mother or any other adults. “We traveled alone, without our mother, and without other adults for various reasons. Where we moved to here in Mhangura, we have many relatives. They don’t come to see us. We don’t know why,” the girl explained.
In Harare, the family has sought the help of the church. Pastor Hazvinei Muchefa of RECFEMI Ministries Church has taken an interest in the case. He views the baboon incident through a dual lens, acknowledging both the natural and the spiritual.
“The issue is that this patient needs help in hospitals and spiritually. Nothing is impossible with God, so they should be helped quickly,” says Pastor Muchefa. He adds that the baboon visit is twofold: it could have come from the forest or have witchcraft involved.
A Lingering Shadow
As the Masauti girl continues her battle with the “unseen things” in the suburbs of Harare, the homesteads in Nivana remain empty, a testament to the power of fear. The case raises difficult questions about the role of traditional beliefs in a modernising society. While some may dismiss the baboon as a simple stray and the girl’s illness as a medical condition — perhaps a form of epilepsy or a psychological disorder — for the people of Mhangura, the reality is far more complex.
In the absence of robust mental health services and the decline of the rural economy, many families turn to the only frameworks they have to make sense of their suffering. The baboon of Mhangura was not just an animal; it was a messenger of a deeper, more pervasive anxiety that continues to haunt the Zimbabwean heartland.
For now, the Masautis can only hope that the distance between Mhangura and Harare is enough to break the trail the baboon so carefully followed. But in the quiet moments of the night, when the “unseen forces” return, the memory of that silent, watchful primate remains a chilling reminder of the shadows they left behind.
Fact Box: Witchcraft and the Law in Zimbabwe
- The Witchcraft Suppression Act, originally enacted in 1899 and amended in 2006, governs how such cases are handled in Zimbabwe.
- While the law technically prohibits the accusation of another person as a witch, it acknowledges the belief in the “practice of witchcraft” for the purposes of prosecution.
- Traditional leaders, such as Chief Magonde, often play a central role in mediating these disputes, though their involvement can sometimes conflict with national legal standards.
- The use of animal familiars (baboons, hyenas, owls) is a common element in Shona spiritual beliefs regarding malevolent magic.
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