Priest said she was a witch, £20 damages.
From our own correspondent.
Bloemfontein, Thursday.
Mysterious stone-throwing and the disappearance of clothes from locked rooms were mentioned in court today when a native woman sued a priest for defamation because he had called her a witch. She was awared £20 damages, with costs. And this was the story told in the District Commissioner’s court at Teyateyanen, Basutoland, of the strange happenings at the mission of St. Theresa at Bela village.
Stones, it was said, fell round the mission with no apparent thrower. Clods of earth landed on people sitting in rooms with doors and windows closed.
The mission authorities decided to take action. One of the stones thrown by invisible hands was placed in a box for the priest to exorcise the evil from it. The priest was called away for 20 minutes. When he returned the stone had gone.
The Roman Catholic bishop in Maseru visited the mission. When he went to bed a guard was placed outside the door. The bishop was not molested, but the guard’s face was slapped by invisible hands during the night.
Maria Matheka told the court that not only had Father Hamel publicly stated she was a witch; he had threatened her with “tokolosh” – a hairy elf potent in native superstition.
The action was not defended.
Daily News (London), 16th January 1948.