When Witchcraft Belief Becomes a Legal Danger

Introduction

Belief in witchcraft remains socially significant for many Zimbabweans, but the country’s legal system is built around a different question: not whether supernatural forces exist, but how to prevent accusations, intimidation and violence from causing real harm. Zimbabwe’s law has gradually shifted away from the outright colonial dismissal of witchcraft beliefs, yet it continues to insist that courts can only punish conduct that produces legally provable harm. The result is a distinctive legal compromise. It acknowledges that accusations of witchcraft are culturally meaningful while seeking to protect people from persecution, fraud, assault and vigilantism. This balance remains controversial because unexplained illness, death or family misfortune can still trigger accusations with severe social consequences, even when no crime involving supernatural claims can be demonstrated.[zimlii.org]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

Why accusations follow unexplained misfortune

Witchcraft accusations in Zimbabwe usually emerge after events that appear to demand an explanation: an unexpected death, repeated illness, infertility, crop failure, livestock losses or sudden financial collapse. Rather than random misfortune, these events may be interpreted as the deliberate work of another person using hidden powers. The accusation often reflects existing family tensions, inheritance disputes, jealousy, neighbourhood rivalries or longstanding personal conflicts rather than entirely new suspicions.[Africabib]africabib.orgAfrica Bib | Witchcraft and the Law in ZimbabweAfricaBib | Witchcraft and the Law in Zimbabwe…

The greatest documented harm comes not from any supernatural claim itself but from the social consequences of being identified as a witch. Those accused may face:

Older people, widows, socially isolated individuals and those already viewed with suspicion can be especially vulnerable. The legal system therefore treats the accusation itself as something capable of causing measurable harm, regardless of whether anyone genuinely believes the supernatural allegation.[zimlii.org]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

From colonial suppression to the 2006 reforms

Zimbabwe inherited the colonial Witchcraft Suppression Act, legislation based on the assumption that witchcraft was merely “pretended” and that the principal danger lay in fraudulent claims and public accusations. The Act discouraged identifying people as witches because such allegations frequently provoked retaliation and violence, but it also reflected a colonial legal philosophy that official courts should reject supernatural explanations altogether.[Veritas Zim]veritaszim.netVeritas Zim Witchcraft Suppression Act [Chapter 9:19] | veritaszimVeritas Zim Witchcraft Suppression Act [Chapter 9:19] | veritaszim

Many Zimbabweans regarded this approach as unsatisfactory because it ignored beliefs that remained widespread in everyday life. Traditional leaders and customary forums often continued to hear disputes framed in terms of witchcraft even while the formal courts generally refused to recognise those explanations. Legal scholar Gordon Chavunduka described this as a continuing conflict between customary understandings and the formal legal system.[Africabib]africabib.orgAfrica Bib | Witchcraft and the Law in ZimbabweAfricaBib | Witchcraft and the Law in Zimbabwe…

A significant change came with the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which replaced the old Witchcraft Suppression Act. The reforms, implemented in 2006, no longer depended on declaring witchcraft impossible. Instead, the law focused on conduct associated with alleged witchcraft that could be shown to intimidate, threaten or harm others. The change was widely discussed because it appeared to acknowledge the social reality of witchcraft beliefs without abandoning ordinary criminal standards of proof.[zimlii.org]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

What courts can prove and whom the law protects

The modern legal framework distinguishes carefully between belief and criminal liability.

Section 98 of the Criminal Law Code criminalises practices commonly associated with witchcraft only where they are intentionally used to make another person genuinely fear that serious harm will occur. The offence therefore centres on intimidation and deliberate harmful conduct rather than proof of supernatural powers.[ZimLII]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

Section 99 addresses another longstanding problem: publicly identifying someone as a witch or wizard. Groundless accusations, particularly those supported by supposed supernatural methods such as witch-finding, remain criminal offences because they expose the accused to serious social danger. The legislation also makes clear that merely claiming the accusation is true is not a complete legal defence.[ZimLII]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

Equally important is Section 101. It provides that a genuine belief that someone is a witch is not a legal defence to murder, assault or other crimes. A court may consider that belief when deciding sentence, but it does not excuse criminal violence. This provision attempts to prevent cultural beliefs from becoming a justification for attacks on alleged witches.[ZimLII]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

The continuing challenge for the courts

Zimbabwean judges have repeatedly acknowledged that witchcraft beliefs remain influential while emphasising that courts require evidence capable of legal proof. Reported judgments note the tension between recognising widespread cultural beliefs and preventing those beliefs from legitimising persecution or impossible-to-test allegations.[Law Portal Zim]lawportalzim.co.zwLaw Portal ZimLaw Portal Zim

This creates several recurring legal difficulties.

First, a complainant may sincerely believe harm resulted from supernatural action, but sincerity alone cannot establish criminal responsibility.

Second, the legal system must distinguish between protected expressions of belief, fraudulent conduct, intimidation and actual violence.

Third, judges must ensure that criminal proceedings do not become vehicles for validating accusations that place vulnerable people at risk.

These evidential limits explain why many prosecutions arising from witchcraft disputes concern assault, threats, intimidation or unlawful accusations rather than any attempt to determine whether supernatural acts occurred.[zimlii.org]zimlii.orgCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – ZimLIIMarch 11, 2022…Published: March 11, 2022

Violence remains a separate crime

Some of the clearest judicial statements concern violence committed against alleged witches. Zimbabwean courts have consistently held that belief in witchcraft cannot excuse assaults or killings, even where an offender genuinely believed that supernatural harm had occurred. Although cultural belief may sometimes be considered when sentencing, it does not remove criminal responsibility.[Law Portal Zim]lawportalzim.co.zwLaw Portal ZimLaw Portal Zim

This reflects an important principle in Zimbabwean law: the justice system is designed to protect people from demonstrable harm, not to determine the reality of supernatural claims. Whether the dispute began with sincere belief, rumour or family conflict, violence remains punishable under the ordinary criminal law.

Why the issue remains important

Zimbabwe’s legal approach illustrates the difficulty of governing a society in which supernatural beliefs remain influential while constitutional courts operate through evidence, procedure and legal proof. Simply dismissing witchcraft beliefs risks alienating communities that regard them as real. At the same time, giving legal force to accusations that cannot be objectively verified can expose innocent people to exclusion, assault or worse.

The country’s reforms therefore represent an attempt to draw a practical boundary. The law largely leaves questions of belief to individuals and communities, but it intervenes where accusations become intimidation, fraud or violence. That compromise has not eliminated disputes, yet it reflects an enduring effort to respect cultural realities without allowing fear of witchcraft to become a licence for persecution.

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Endnotes

1. Source: zimlii.org
Link:https://zimlii.org/akn/zw/act/2004/23/eng%402022

Published: March 11, 2022

2. Source: africabib.org
Title: Africa Bib | Witchcraft and the Law in Zimbabwe
Link:https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=183009401

3. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Title: Law Portal Zim
Link:https://lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/940/witchcraft

4. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Title: Law Portal Zim
Link:https://www.lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/1109/defence-of-diminished-mental-responsibility-or-diminished-capacity-re-provocation-iro-witchcraft-cultural-beliefs

5. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Title: Law Portal Zim
Link:https://lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/2716/the-state/shingirai-hamunakwadi

Published: May 19, 2014

6. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Title: Law Portal Zim
Link:https://www.lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/801/sentencing-re-witchcraft

7. Source: africabib.org
Link:https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?DB=p&RID=183009401

8. Source: veritaszim.net
Title: Veritas Zim Witchcraft Suppression Act [Chapter 9:19] | veritaszim
Link:https://www.veritaszim.net/node/122

9. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Link:https://lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/178/criminal-law-re-foundation-and-application-of-the-criminal-law-codification-and-reform-act-criminal-justice-system

10. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Link:https://www.lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/1052/indictment-or-charge-re-multiple-or-co-accused-multiple-charges-and-differing-pleas-iro-joint-or-separate-trials

11. Source: lawportalzim.co.zw
Link:https://www.lawportalzim.co.zw/cases/criminal/1040/murder-re-murder-with-actual-intent-dolus-directus-and-murder-committed-in-aggravated-circumstances?pg=1

12. Source: veritaszim.net
Link:https://www.veritaszim.net/acts?page=15

Additional References

13. Source: cambridge.org
Link:https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-legal-information/article/witchcraft-accusations-and-the-tort-of-defamation-in-anglophone-africa/22930E9DEDD422B529CE891441433B33

Published: April 3, 2024

14. Source: law.co.zw
Title: Criminal Law (Codification And Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23)
Link:https://www.law.co.zw/download/1698/

Published: July 24, 2020

15. Source: youtube.com
Title: Forensics, Witchcraft Accusations, and Ritual Murders with Keith Silika
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tApiT9GQ-9I

16. Source: link.springer.com
Link:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10609-024-09479-x

17. Source: ntjwg.uwazi.io
Link:https://ntjwg.uwazi.io/entity/zgxwr6mzy7?file=1551337643509dcxw5u01idi.pdf&page=1

18. Source: ntjwg.uwazi.io
Link:https://ntjwg.uwazi.io/en/entity/zgxwr6mzy7/metadata?file=1551337643509dcxw5u01idi.pdf&page=2

19. Source: ntjwg.uwazi.io
Link:https://ntjwg.uwazi.io/entity/zgxwr6mzy7?file=1551337643509dcxw5u01idi.pdf&page=2

20. Source: youtube.com
Title: Investigating Witchcraft Crimes with Dr Keith Silika
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o75Z0mKdEjc

21. Source: ntjwg.uwazi.io
Link:https://ntjwg.uwazi.io/en/entity/8blqe471pmv/metadata?file=1550477753642pfbzj3lkvug.pdf&page=39&raw=true

22. Source: youtube.com
Title: Witch Cleanser | National Geographic
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogp2Eeo1gMs