A Chipinge teacher who was transferred from Chimana Secondary School after she was accused of being the ring leader of an alleged satanism cult at the school is suing the School Development Committee (SDC) and village heads for $5 million for defamation.
The teacher, Mercy Mutando approached the Chipinge Civil Court on Tuesday accusing the Chimana SDC led by Tafara Sithole, and village head, Walter Mushavanhu, and the other 12 members of the community of calling her a satanist.
Chipinge magistrate, Elizabeth Hanzi presided over the case, while Tariro Tazvitya, of Bere Brothers Legal Practitioners, represented the defendants.
In her submissions to the court, Mutando claims that she lost her dignity in the community as everyone accused her of initiating pupils at the school into satanism.
She said her name was tarnished all over the world because of the allegations raised by the defendants. Mutando said:
My name was tarnished and was all over social media because of the unfounded allegations raised by the defendants.
They gave false information to the District Schools Inspector, police and Chief Mapungwana that I was responsible for the mysterious happenings that were reported at the school.
I was disturbed by these allegations, and my employer had to transfer me to another school since my life was in danger at the school.
In April this year, bizarre incidents took place at Chimana Secondary School, with some pupils collapsing, while some fell into trances.
As a result, three school inspectors visited the school and recommended its closure.
The village head and the community staged a demonstration at the school resulting in Mutando being transferred from the school.