Thokolosi on the loose

Kabelo Dipholo
HEAD SCRATCHER: Modise outside her home

Young boy tormented by faceless creature in Tobane

A violent, short-tempered faceless creature with a fierce throw and an even hotter slap has been tormenting an 11-year-old Tobane Primary School boy.

The child was temporarily taken out of school and briefly relocated to Mmadinare, as his parents sought refuge from the supernatural being which has made a habit of slapping and choking him.

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Throwing stones at passing cars, breaking windows and even slapping the pastor reportedly sent to exorcise it, causing the man of God to flee, are just some of the things this faceless terror was accused of.

SMASHED: The front window

News of a Thokolosi in the village of Tobane, nestled deep in the eastern part of Botswana some 20kms from Selebi Phikwe, broke on social media late in February.

The allegations would later gain traction as more stories about a Thokolosi throwing tantrums in the village emerged.

In an interview with The Voice last Saturday, two weeks after the Thokolosi first struck, the tormented boy’s grandmother and guardian, Mmatala Modise, insists the reports have been greatly exaggerated.

However, the old woman reluctantly admits that strange happenings have hit her home recently – literally, as four smashed windows indicate. Her absent grandson is further proof that something is amiss.

A staunch member of the African Baptist (AB) church, Modise angrily blames a certain ‘MmaPatricia’ for spreading falsehoods about her and her family.

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“She’s a daughter to a traditional doctor in the village and I was alerted to this personal attack by concerned neighbours, who shared a voice recording of her just spewing lies and making all sorts of claims,” remonstrates the stooped elder.

Visibly uneasy and growing increasingly agitated, the granny reveals her grandson woke up in the middle of the night weeping that he was being pinched and punched.

“Like this past Saturday, he woke up screaming saying something was hitting him. He was evidently in pain but I could not see anything. I don’t know why someone will go around claiming a Thokolosi attacked my son. How do they know that? I’ve never seen a Thokolosi in my life and just like everyone else I’ve no answers,” she said, fixing this reporter with a soul-piercing stare.

Standing in her well swept yard, with several chickens roaming about, blissfully unaware of the old woman’s anguish, Modise further told The Voice the faceless intruder has a habit of throwing stones at her two-bedroom house.

QUIET: The haunted yard

“The first time it happened, I was at a neighbour’s house around midday when I heard a loud bang on the roof. I initially thought teenage boys hunting birds may have thrown the stone. However, the second stone landed and together with my neighbour we went to investigate.”

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When a third stone hurtled through the front window, they realised something out of the ordinary was happening.

“This thing continued for some time and as you can see, all my windows are broken, but that’s as far as it goes. No passersby have been hurt, nor stones thrown at passing cars. The village leadership even came here to assess the damage and none of them was slapped by the alleged Thokolosi,” she said.

“As you mentioned, you’ve been here for the past two days, has anything slapped you yet?” challenged Modise, adding her grandson was due to return the following day.

In an interview with The Voice, Kgosi Nametsego Motlhasedi of Tobane confirmed visiting the tormented family after the matter was reported at her office.

“We saw the broken windows and the little boy, but that’s as far as I can say. I don’t know where the Thokolosi story comes from,” maintained Kgosi Motlhasedi, who declined to have her picture taken.

Meanwhile, a prominent religious leader in the village, Prophet Frank Mod of Heavenly Embassy International Church, confirmed stories of mysterious creatures are rife in the village.

“I once had a similar case in church where a man complained that a hairy female creature joined him in bed every night. He said the creature was really scary and had been tormenting him for years. We prayed for him and he was delivered,” said Prophet Mod.

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MAN OF GOD: Prophet Mod

The youthful religious leader defined a Thokolosi as Satan or evil spirit that occupies a host body to torment the human race.

“I’ve been in the village for seven years, and the most common complaints of people who come to my church are people complaining about spiritual wives and husbands. People say they are being sexually used while they sleep,” he said.

“We can pray and deliver these people, but they’ve to keep reading the word of God and be prayerful,” concluded the pastor.

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