Cleansing underway following SASSA office witchcraft scare

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) says strange needles on workers’ desks, and complaints of sickness from several employees led officials to suspect that something sinister was taking place at their Mkhondo offices in Mpumalanga.

SASSA Provincial Spokesperson, Senzeni Ngubeni, says after checking CCTV footage, officials discovered that witchcraft was taking place.

A footage of the incident has since gone viral on social media, where a man can be seen walking around the SASSA office with a snake while the other is praying and splattering liquid on employees’ desks.

Shocking as employees witness witchcraft being performed their office spaces live on camera. Employees refused to go to work and offices had to be closed😳!

These are allegedly @OfficialSASSA offices in Limpopo, South Africa. #CSKvSRH #viralvideo #Sizokthola #DateMyFamily… pic.twitter.com/zSrRWqhCW1

— Elite King James (@General_Sport7) April 29, 2024

According to allegations making the rounds on social media, a manager had ordered traditional healers to perform the ritual.

However, Ngubeni says the motive behind the shocking incident remains unclear as investigations continue.

He could confirm, though, that two employees had since been suspended and are being investigated over the incident.

The SASSA Mkhondo office has been closed for two weeks now, with some employees refusing to return to work.

Speaking with YNews, Ngubeni confirmed that counselling was arranged for workers who are still traumatised by the incident, while the office is undergoing a spiritual cleansing.
 
He’s condemned the incident as nonsensical, adding that private rituals and religion should never be brought into the workspace.
 
“A SASSA office is a public space. It’s not where you can practice your own religion. It’s a public space where beneficiaries and clients come for help. We are serving the vulnerable in the community. It’s not a space where once can practice their rituals,” he told YNews.
 
Sharing a similar sentiment is Oscar Esbie from the African Traditional Medicines Programme.

Esbie says bogus practitioners are destroying a respected practice.
 
The Traditional Healer says the practitioner who went to the SASSA office and performed the ritual should be blamed, not the employees who allegedly ordered the act.

“It was extremely unethical – the employees are not at fault, but the practitioner who suggested they go to the workplace in the first place.”