{"id":7801,"date":"2025-07-17T12:59:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T12:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=7801"},"modified":"2025-07-17T12:59:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T12:59:06","slug":"dementia-is-nit-witchcraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=7801","title":{"rendered":"Dementia Is Nit Witchcraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bulawayo \u2013 A disturbing trend of elderly citizens being accused of witchcraft due to symptoms of dementia has prompted urgent calls for education and compassion from health advocates and community leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dementia Misdiagnosed as Witchcraft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across many Zimbabwean communities, elders exhibiting confusion, memory loss, or unusual behaviour\u2014such as wandering, forgetting familiar faces, or speaking incoherently\u2014are wrongly labelled as witches or wizards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical experts emphasize that these are classic signs of dementia, a degenerative brain condition, not supernatural activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Tariro Muchena, a geriatric specialist, stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Dementia is a medical condition, not a curse. These symptoms arise from physical changes in the brain. Labelling our grandparents as witches is not only cruel\u2014it prevents them from receiving life-saving care.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A Crisis of Compassion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of support, affected elders face ostracization, violence, or expulsion from homes. Community elder Grace Chiweshe (78) shared:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“My neighbour was beaten because she wandered at night. She didn\u2019t remember her name\u2014how is that witchcraft? We must protect our elders, not terrorize them.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Call to Action<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article urges a multi-pronged approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Education: Churches, schools, and NGOs must raise awareness about dementia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Healthcare Training: Families need resources to manage symptoms safely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Community Vigilance: Offer help to confused elders; don\u2019t assume malice.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Pastor Abel Ndlovu added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    “Scripture commands us to honour our elders. Let our communities be sanctuaries, not places of fear.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    ProtectOurElders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Advocates stress that Zimbabwe\u2019s elders\u2014who built families and communities\u2014deserve dignity, not demonization. Dementia is a health challenge affecting millions globally; understanding it can save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This article was adapted from a guest submission advocating for dementia education. For support or reporting, contact \u00a9Zim GBC News\u2019s helpline<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube Bulawayo \u2013 A disturbing trend of elderly citizens being accused of witchcraft due to symptoms of dementia has prompted urgent calls for education and compassion from health… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7801"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7803,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7801\/revisions\/7803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}