HARARE - The Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (Zinatha) yesterday dispatched a crack team to probe an explosion at a Chitungwiza house where five people died on Monday.

“We are sending our experts to the crime scene, we hope the police will allow them to do their job because as the responsible panel, we are in a position to determine the cause of the explosion,” Zinatha spokesperson George Kandiero told the Daily News.

Zinatha dispatches probe team to blast scene.

Although the deceased n’anga was not a registered member of the body, Zinatha felt duty bound to find answers to an explosion that has spawned varied explanations from a nation desperately seeking answers to the mysterious blast.

Kandiyero urged the public to approach Zinatha offices for proper exorcism ceremonies.

He explained that the current Zinatha position is that the explosion was a result of an exorcism ceremony that went wrong.

“The n’anga in question did not have enough knowledge concerning the ceremony he was performing,” the spokesperson said.

The deadly explosion damaged 12 houses and killed five people in the sprawling town of Chitungwiza, leaving residents shell shocked on Monday.

Soldiers were called in to support the rescue operation after police were overwhelmed by the traumatic event.

Body parts were strewn everywhere with soldiers and police officers barricading the four houses where the situation was more repulsive.

So powerful was the blast that it shook houses within a 100 metre radius.

Blasts or explosions of such magnitude are rare in Zimbabwe, but in a country that deeply believes in the powers of the supernatural, some traditional doctors are said to have the power to concoct a wealth-acquiring ritual, using the infamous “sandawana”.

According to Lovemore Muparadzi, a Zinatha-registered n’anga, the ritual was supposed to be performed in the forest due to the force it wields.