Zim ‘healer’ fined N$20 000, to be deported

Arrested last month for operating as a traditional healer at Dr Sibanda’s Clinic at Eenhana in the Ohangwena Region, Coster Wirosi has been fined N$20 000 and will soon be deported back to his native Zimbabwe.Wirosi (45) was arrested on 15 February during an undercover operation by police chief inspector Christina van Dunem Dafonsech. He has been providing what he termed ‘medical and spiritual treatment’ to Eenhana residents and others from faraway villages seeking answers to their ‘troubled lives’. Dafonsech pretended to be a client to obtain evidence of Wirosi’s manipulative ways.He appeared in Eenhana Magistrate’s Court on 3 March and was sentenced on 8 March. He pleaded guilty on three counts, including making a false representation or committing a fraudulent act for the purpose of entering or remaining in Namibia. He was also charged with contravening Section 30(1)(a) of the Immigration Control Act, Act No 7 of 1993. The accused, the holder of a temporary residence permit prohibiting him from taking employment in Namibia, wrongfully and unlawfully entered into the employment of or was in the employment of another person as a traditional healer.He has also been charged with contravening the Witchcraft Suppression Proclamation 27 of 1933.PunishmentOhangwena crime investigation coordinator, deputy commissioner Zachariah Amakali, said Wirosi was punished as follows: Count one - N$5 000 or 15 months’ imprisonment; count two - N$5 000 or 15 months’ imprisonment, and count three - N$10 000 or three years’ imprisonment.“He paid fine and he is held on a warrant of detention in terms of the Immigration Control Act, pending a deportation tribunal. No other person was charged as an accomplice in the case,” he said.He added that Wirosi’s clinic, which is next to his house and had operated as a divination centre for over 15 years, has been shut down.The bookkeeping records have shown that clients were made to pay consultation fees from as little as N$50 to anything over N$8 000, depending on the “complexity of the ailment”.Ruffled feathersDafonsech’s visit to Ohangwena earlier this year ruffled some feathers, and what was meant to be a two-week mission, as instructed by police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga, was cut short.Ndeitunga instructed Dafonsech to meet with the pastors of &#039;fake’ churches. She is known for arresting self-proclaimed traditional doctors and prophets in Windhoek&#039;s informal settlements and is committed to assisting members of the community deal with these ‘churches’.The police chief’s concern is that the problems caused by these churches are not restricted to members of the public, but extend to police officers too.- tuyeimo@namibiansun.com

Zim ‘healer’ fined N$20 000, to be deported

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-29

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Zim ‘healer’ fined N$20 000, to be deported

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-29

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