Mermaids Blamed for Prophet's Drowning Death in Zimbabwe

We recently posted about a goblin in Zimbabwe and now we have a story about mermaids being responsible for a prophet's drowning in the African country. A recent report from Nehandaradio.com states that the family of Simbarashe Kamupondera, 31, of Nyeredzi Nhatu apostolic sect, is blaming mermaids, or njuzu, on his "abduction" during a cleansing ceremony in the Ruwa River in Epworth.

According to Magma Mutingwende, Simbarashe’s sister-in-law, “Simbarashe came to stay with us a month ago. He has been telling us that he had a spirit of a mermaid. He also said that a prophet had prayed for a cloth that he gave him to always tie when getting into the waters. Yesterday he bought a new cloth after he had written his name on the old one saying that he could no longer use it. He tied it today before he got into the water.”

Magma also said that the father-of-two was "praying for a female congregant when he was swept away." She is also not going to be mourning his loss and when this went to report on February 9, his wife was still not informed of his "loss." Why? Because they know he will be coming back.

This isn't the first time the njuzu have been reported on in Zimbabwe. In 2010, Nehandaradio also reported on pictures of dead mermaids surfacing.

-Larissa Mrykalo