Jo'Burg Days: It Started As A Whisper
A whisper can lead to the loss of life, as Barbara Durlacher's short story reveals.
The kombi clattered and creaked along, talk rose and fell, then became more serious.
“The children were captured to make muti!” one speaker declared,
“Eheu … that’s right!!” another agreed.
“No, their mother ran away with that guy from iGoli. He told her he would buy her a BMW,” contradicted another, shaking her head. “She left the children with the grandmother, the old woman is nearly blind, how can she look after kids when she can’t look after herself?”
Then a sibilant whisper insinuated itself into the conversation. “I know the kids were killed by the grandmother. She’s practising witchcraft; she’s a wicked woman and shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. We must burn her hut down, she’s bad; she’s a witch, she’s evil.”
“Serious?” “Yes, ser-i-o-u-s….” by the time the group left the bus, they were ready for action.
That night, a thick cloud obscured the stars and the dogs were silent when shadowy forms threw burning rags onto the thatched roof of the khaya, then melted into the darkness.
The report said, “A suspicion of witchcraft caused an elderly man and his wife to be burnt to death in their hut. There are no suspects.”
