Sekuru Kafera whose rituals killed Eddie and his military wife now demands US$250,000 from grieving widow

CHITUNGWIZA – A grieving widow in Beatrice says a traditional healer demanded US$250,000 from her for goblins he claimed her late husband had acquired, threatened that she and her children would die if she did not pay, and used a python to frighten her into agreeing to the demand.

Police in Beatrice are investigating the complaint, which was reported shortly after the woman buried her husband. During the investigation, property and cash valued at US$33,000 have been recovered, according to information about the case.

The healer, Sekuru Amos Kafera, is said to have summoned the widow to his homestead at Gaths Farm soon after the funeral. He allegedly told her that her husband had a US$250,000 debt for goblins he had “bought” from him. He also warned that the widow and her children would die if the money was not paid.

The woman says the encounter became more frightening when Kafera took a python from a sack and told her it belonged to her late husband. Afraid for her own safety and that of her children, she agreed to pay.

Kafera then allegedly sent workers to collect a tractor, a disc plough, a Toyota Dakur vehicle, 13 cattle and US$13,000 in cash from the widow’s home. The items and money were valued at more than US$60,000. She was also reportedly being pressed for a further US$48,200.

The sequence unfolded in the immediate aftermath of a funeral, when the family was still grieving. The widow later told relatives what had happened. They told her that the conduct she described was unlawful and encouraged her to seek help.

One of her grandchildren went to Kafera’s homestead and retrieved the tractor and disc plough. The family then reported the matter to police in Beatrice. Police confirmed that an investigation into the reported extortion case was under way.

The US$33,000 in property and cash reported recovered is a separate figure from the more than US$60,000 said to have been taken from the home. The account of the case also lists the continuing US$48,200 demand, alongside the original US$250,000 amount Kafera allegedly claimed was owed.

Earlier claims about Eddie Fresh and his wife

The Beatrice case has renewed attention on Kafera’s earlier public statements about the deaths of social media personality Eddy Takawira, widely known as Eddie Fresh, and his wife Shylete Masangamba, a Zimbabwe National Army officer. The couple died in a road crash near Kutama in November 2024.

In the aftermath, Kafera said he had performed rituals for the couple and linked their deaths to an unpaid fee. He said Eddie had wanted to expand his transport business, while Masangamba sought to progress in her military career. Kafera claimed his work helped the couple become wealthier and helped Masangamba advance.

Kafera said the couple had agreed to pay US$10,000 for his services but had paid only US$1,500. He denied causing the crash. “I did not cause the accident but they got bad luck from refusing to pay my money.”

In another account of the arrangement, he said: “Eddy and his wife were my clients. I wanted them to succeed so we could both benefit. When things started going well for them, I asked them to pay for my services, but they refused four times.”

The couple’s relatives also described a series of distressing events around the funeral. In a voice message that circulated at the time, one family member said mourners had been caught up in a separate minibus accident while travelling to collect the bodies, with seven people injured. The relative also said heavy rain fell and lightning struck a tent where mourners were sheltering.

“We nearly lost our lives when we went to collect their remains. The kombi we were traveling in was involved in an accident, and seven people were injured. The rain was so heavy, and lightning struck the tent where people were sheltering. It was terrifying. Eddy’s ghost was reportedly seen, and people fled in fear. It felt like something straight out of an African movie. We saw things we thought only happened in Nigerian films but it was happening right here,” the family member said.

The funeral dispute became public as the families sought to understand what had happened and Kafera spoke about money he said remained unpaid. In a separate message attributed to a relative, Kafera was said to have gone to the family home and taken US$5,000, while also demanding the couple’s vehicles. Kafera’s own account was that he wanted to meet the families to discuss the money and that members of the family had tried to assault his children.

“I asked their families to meet so we could discuss the matter. They said they were going back to inform other family members, but later returned with bouncers, trying to assault my children,” he said.

Those claims date back to 2024. The deaths happened then; the current Beatrice complaint concerns a separate woman, a separate family and a new demand reported after another funeral. In the latest case, the widow’s relatives intervened, helped recover the tractor and plough, and took the complaint to police.

A healer known for claims about spiritual services

Kafera has built a public profile around claims that spiritual work can help clients with money, business, relationships, promotion and personal difficulties. In past interviews, he has said people from a wide range of professions visit him, including pastors, prophets, business executives, sex workers, minibus operators, truck drivers and car dealers.

He has claimed that some clients wanted powers to prophesy in church, while others sought wealth, help with failing marriages or the return of a partner who had left. He has also said he sees at least 150 people a day and that his spiritual powers originated in Malawi.

Among his most striking public claims was that he had “resurrected” his nephew, Watson, in Mufakose after the man had been dead for four days. Kafera said he gave him a two-litre drink and that he woke up “from the dead”. The account was presented as Kafera’s claim about his own work.

He has also told interviewers that he helped a late socialite couple build their wealth after they sought a better livelihood. In comments about the couple, he said his work had helped the wife of a former army officer secure a promotion and enabled them to buy cars. His later claims about Eddie Fresh and Masangamba similarly linked his spiritual services to the couple’s financial and career progress, before he said they had failed to settle their bill.

Kafera’s name has also appeared in a separate case in which he said people were using his identity to defraud clients. In 2023, he said impersonators had collected booking payments by posing as his aides and directing prospective clients to send money to mobile accounts. He said the losses had exceeded US$10,000 in a week, with individual victims reportedly paying between US$500 and US$2,000. Police confirmed that a report had been made and said investigations were under way.

“There are people who are using my good name to rob people. I have lost at least US$10 000. My business has been put in disrepute by these people,” Kafera said at the time.

That episode involved people accused of impersonating him, rather than a complaint against Kafera. The Beatrice case, by contrast, centres on the widow’s account of a demand made directly to her after her husband’s burial. It has left the family dealing with grief, the return of property and an ongoing police investigation, while the reported demand remains far above the value of the cash and goods recovered so far.