Chapter 31: Ancestral Meeting

"Who is out there? Free me from this place and I will show you the power to control animals," Mutapa said.

It was in the middle of the night and warriors were standing right round his hut. Mhare approached the hut and listened to Mutapa saying, "I am the annointed Mutapa. I posses the power to control animals even without the horn."

Mhare opened the door to the hut and entered. The room was lit with torches of fire. He sat on a wooden bench and watched Mutapa who was tied to the pole. He just sat there because he didn't trust the other warriors especially with what Mutapa was offering to them.

"I can give you the power. You are a brave men. If you possess the power I have, no one will be able to stop you," Mutapa said.

Mhare ignored Mutapa and sat at the bench as he watched him. "You and I are the same. We can be stronger. Just untie me and let me go," Mutapa said again.

Mhare rose from the bench and punched Mutapa two times on the mouth. "I am nothing like you. Shut up and rest. We have a big day tomorrow."

Mhare sat down and watched Mutapa all night. When morning came, he changed the warriors who were guarding the hut. Soon people from the villages gathered inside the king's compound to listen to Mutapa.

The kings also gathered around and sat beside Changamire Zama. Mutapa was taken from his prison hut and people began shouting, throwing things and spitting at him. They brought him before the kings and he stood there.

Danda, Changamire Zama's advisor, stood up. "People of the Bantu, Manyika, Karanga and Zezuru kingdoms! We are gathered here today to hear what this man has to say before our kings pass his judgement. The kings will question him and he will answer."

Changamire Zama stood up and said, "We are going to ask this man everything that he did from start upto this point. Now, the people would like to know why you used your witchcraft in all our kingdoms."

Mutapa chuckled and said, "I am not a wizzard. I have a calling from the ancestors and I fulfill their duties."

The people began shouting at him and cursing him with all sorts of words. "Respond to the question," Negomo said as he stood next to Mutapa.

Changamire Zama raised his hand and all the people went quiet. "I never sinned. All of you sinned against the ancestors and I was sent to punish for the sins that you committed."

Negomo pressed his hand on Mutapa's arrow wound which was on his thigh. Mutapa screamed in pain and Negomo said, "Answer properly."

"Four years ago you killed all the sangomas including my father, Murape. That's why..." Mutapa couldn't finish because the people began shouting at him.

"Murape was a traitor! He wanted to remove our king from the throne. He deserved to die!" One of the people in the crowds shouted.

"He is Murape's son! Kill him!" Another man shouted.

Warriors stood up and helped to keep the people quiet. "Murape was a traitor. He caused a rebellion that disturbed four nations at once. He wanted to become the sore ruler of all our kingdoms by using witchcraft. Why would the ancestors send you to kill innocent people over the death of a murderer like Murape? He killed innocent people in his quest for power."

"My father was trying to restore order in these kingdoms. You allowed the Portuguese to teach you a new custom that was against our tradition. They taught you to hate our ancestors and shun sangomas. You began to see sangomas as evil. That's why I was sent to make you pay for shunning the ancestors," Mutapa said.

The began shouting again and calling him all sorts of names. "How did the ancestors call you to do such a thing?" Mambo Tenda asked.

"My father gave me instructions to go the east and look for Makosi. When she found me she blessed me with the gift of controlling animals. She trained me everything I had to know about animals. When the time came, I attacked the Karanga people first, then the Zezuru and finally the Manyika. After that Makosi helped me to devise a plan that would make you all fight against each other," Mutapa said.

"How did you manage to use some of our warriors in that plan of yours?" Changamire Zama questioned.

"It was simple. Makosi chose one of you to make the plan easy. She chose a man from this kingdom. His name was Gora. He is the one whom she annointed to replace me. He came and took some warriors and pretended to be me. That's why I killed him the day after you battled in this kingdom," Mutapa responded.

When the people heard about Gora they began murmuring. Runako was there in the crowds and she couldn't believe that Gora could have done this. "Liar!" One of the people shouted.

"I am not lying! Makosi felt that she had to replace me with another man because I was still exacting my revenge on all of you. She annointed Gora with the oil to become the new Mutapa. But I fought and killed him. After that I annointed myself with the oil. There's only one Mutapa now who stands," Mutapa said proudly.

"Why do you have to be annointed?" Mambo Wasu questioned.

"Mutapa means the Lord of Conquering. Only one man has to become a Mutapa. That man will possess the power to do anything. No one can conquer him," Mutapa said.

"And yet here you are. We managed to defeat you. The Lord of Conquering has been conquered. This is a myth. If you were trully annointed to become unconquerable then you wouldn't be here," Mambo Gwati said and people agreed with him.

"What do you have to say about the innocent people you killed?" Mambo Tenda asked.

"They were not innocent. They supported you when you killed Murape and his children. It's a shame none of you died. The people suffered for their sins and for your actions. You must die," Mutapa said and spat before the kings.

Negomo pressed his finger into Mutapa's wound. The man cried in pain as Negomo kept on pressing. Mhare came forward and gave the man his share of a beating. They stopped and he cried for a moment from the pain. "You are talking to the kings, not your son. Respect them!" Mhare said.

"What punishment do you think you deserve?" Mambo Gwati asked.

"I deserve no punishment. I was merely fulfilling the duties of the ancestors. You should be the ones to be punished for killing the ones sent by ancestors to communicate with us," Mutapa argued.

The people began shouting at him in one accord saying, "Kill him!"

"Where do you keep our cattle?" Changamire Zama asked.

"Near my cave," Mutapa responded.

The kings questioned him further until he had said everything about his life, how he attacked them and his intentions. Afternoon came as the people listened to his tales. The kings decided to have a meeting to pass Mutapa's judgement away from the people.

Danda rose and began shouting, "This man will receive his punishment tomorrow in your presence. For today, we will rest. The kings will pass his judgement tomorrow in the morning."

The people shouted because they wanted to see him being punished that very day. So to appease them, Mutapa was beaten by some warriors infront of the people until he couldn't cry at all.

After this, the people were dismissed and he was sent to his prison hut. The kings went to the court and sat down to discuss the way forward. "So what are we going to do with the man?" Mambo Tenda asked.

"We have to kill him. He killed a lot of people in all our kingdoms. He deserves to die," Mambo Gwati responded.

"Do we all agree that the man has to die?" Mambo Wasu asked.

All the kings nodded at once and Changamire Zama said, "We have to agree on the form of death. Man like him have to suffer before they die."

"I agree with you there. He has to be burnt alive," Mambo Tenda said.

"Yes. We know the laws of our kingdoms. Every man or woman practicing witchcraft must be burnt alive. Before that, the man has to be beaten," Mambo Gwati said.

"But we have to find a way forward after the death of this man. This occasion has taught us a lesson about sangomas. We have to agree on laws that will define our future," Changamire Zama said.