The art of African witchcraft or ‘juju’ is a phenomenon that’s quite difficult to explain as it divides opinions in a manner that is hard to comprehend by an average person.
According to research, the practice exists in much of Sub-Saharan Africa and it has long been common for football teams to turn to witchcraft (juju), presumably to gain a competitive edge over their opponents.
Speaking during a program on UNZA Radio former Zambia National Team wonderkid Clifford Mulenga admitted using Juju during his playing days, the embattled ex-international stated it is an African thing that can not be easily foregone.
“Juju is juju, you see it is an African thing that we have grown up within our traditions, we have grown up knowing that we need to protect ourselves from outside dangers,” he said.
“In my experience as a footballer, we have done these rituals at my former clubs as a team and I as well used to carry some other staff from home which I believed will help me play better.”
“I once played for a club that was strong on juju, we had some players who came as Christians and they would say, I am a Christian I can not use juju but the coach would say to those guys, look we are Africans before the white man came with his bible our forefathers believed that juju is what will protect them. Here as a team, we believe juju is what will make us win, so it’s either you agree to use it or leave,” he concluded.
This comes barely days after Sensational Zanaco midfielder Chisamba Lungu revealed that a number of players and coaches in Zambia use juju as a way to get to quick fame and money.