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Martyr Benedict Daswa, who was beatified at the weekend.

“Venerable servant of God, zealous catechist, all-round educator”

Date: 18 September 2015 By: Elmon Tshikhudo

The sleepy and peaceful village of Tshitanini outside Thohoyandou came alive at the weekend when thousands of people from all over Southern Africa and abroad converged on the village. This was during the beatification of the late Benedict Tshimangadzo Daswa (44), who was bludgeoned to death in 1990 in a trap by community leaders, who differed from his stance of resisting witchcraft.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect for the Congregation of the Causes for the Saints, represented Pope Francis at the ceremony, which took place on Sunday. It was also attended by many Catholic leaders from all over Southern Africa, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana, national ministers, traditional leaders, government officials and many local people.

In beatifying the late Daswa, which was followed by wild applause by those in attendance, Cardinal Amato described Daswa as a true servant to the end. "We grant that the venerable servant of God, Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa, layman and family man, ... a zealous catechist, all-round educator who gave heroic witness to the gospel, even to the shedding of blood, from now on will be called 'Blessed'. From now on, his death will be celebrated each year on the second of February," said Amato.

Ramaphosa said the best way to honour Daswa would be for people to stop from believing in witchcraft practices and stop ritual murders in the area. “This is the time that we should all take a leaf from the life of Daswa and say no to ritual killings and witchcraft. Ritual killings should come to an end, and witch hunts should stop." He added that "this part of the country, where ritual and witch hunt still continue," must start a dialoge aiming eradicating the dark forces of ritual murders.

Daswa’s daughter Hellen, whose father died when she was still very young, applauded the church, saying the ceremony brought a bit of closure to the family about the incident. “I have a little sister who never saw her father as my mother was heavily pregnant when my father died. Seeing his body and bones exhumed brought a bit of closure. My dad never died. He knew he would live again; he is an angel,” she said.

Daswa, the oldest in the family of five children, was born in 1946 at Mbahe in Limpopo.  He was a teacher by profession and his staunch beliefs in the Christian faith led to his becoming hated in his community. On 25 January 1990, lightning from a powerful thunderstorm caused a number of houses in his village to be destroyed by fire. For the local people this was not a natural act as they strongly believed that somebody in the village was responsible.

They held a meeting where it was deicided that each family should contribute R5 for the consultation of a traditional healer, but Daswa had a different view from that of the community and he refused to pay the money. He told them that his Catholic faith did not allow him to take part in anything that had to do with witchcraft. Upset by his attitude, a plot against him was hatched and, on the evening of 2 February 1990, he was bludgeoned to death in the village of Mbahe, not far from his home.

While his attackers were killing him, he knelt and was praying until the last moment of his life.

 
 
 

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Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

 
 

More photos... 

Members of Daswa's family, photographed at the event.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa (third from left), King Toni Mphephu (second from left) and other traditional leaders were part of the proceedings at Daswa's beatification ceremony at Tshitanini during the weekend.

Cardinal Angelo Amato greets the multitude after the formal programme.

Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli and Chief Ndinyangandothe Magoloi Mphaphuli receive blessings from Cardinal Angelo Amato during the event.

Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli adresses the guests during the beatification ceremony at Tshitanini on Sunday.

Photographed during the event are, from left to right, Mayor Grace Mahosi, King Toni Mphephu, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli. 

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