Crestfallen family members of two Sakawa boys, who allegedly turned into African pythons last Thursday, have heaved a sigh of relief following assurances by a Muslim cleric that he would reverse the curse in a few days. The two men who turned into snakes were among four youth whose desire for riches led them to the shrine of one Nana Ogya at Aburi New-Town in the Eastern Region. The two others who were afflicted with dumbness have now fully recovered. Mallam Fatau, the Muslim cleric, told DAILY GUIDE that he would officially hand over the two to their parents today, after which a thanksgiving service would be held in their honour, at the Nsawam Presbyterian Church. Kofi Adjei, 28, Kwame Tetteh, 28, Yaw Goro, 26 and Filco, 23, were said to be masons and hailed from Sakyikrom, except Filco who hailed from Teacher Mante in the Eastern Region. They were introduced to Nana Ogya by one Kofi Tutu who engaged their services at Afrafra, Nsawam in the Eastern Region. Kofi Tutu who hails from the Brong-Ahafo Region, according to the two, had been lavishing money on them, paying them double the charges for their masonry work. This gesture ignited their quest to become wealthy, an intention they disclosed to their employer who was then putting up a posh three storey building apartment. Meanwhile, Mallam Fatau has said he would keep the two snakes in his sanctuary until the time was due for their transformation into humans. Asked how the snakes were doing, Mallam Fatau said they were doing fine, adding that one of them had wanted to give him a message but he could not tell what the message was or who he was to deliver it to. He said it was not possible for him to decode the snake’s message because the sun was scorching, assuring this reporter that after he had performed some rituals, he would get the snake’s message and give details of it later. Mallam Fatau also promised that when all is set for the transformation of the two snakes into humans, he would inform the media so reporters who doubted the snakes were humans would witness the transformation process. It would be recalled that two men turned into snakes when four youngmen sought the help of a ritualist in an effort to get-rich-quick. After parting with GH¢500 each, Nana Ogya, the fetish priest, made the four go through some rituals, among which was that each should put the menstrual pads of their girlfriends into some sacrament pots. Kofi Adjei and Kwame Tetteh however failed to observe this aspect of the ritual, which resulted in their being turned into snakes. The effect of their friends’ ‘negligence’ also caused Goro and Filco to be afflicted with dumbness. Quickly, the parents of the snake-men and the other two, who had heard about Mallam Fatau’s spiritual prowess, headed for his sanctuary at Borkorborkor Junction, Ablekuma, Accra, in the hope of having their kin turned back into humans and healed of dumbness. The powerful Muslim cleric immediately set out to first cure the two who were afflicted with numbness. The two dumb men were dressed in white garments with a red calico band tied around their waists, and taken through a purification process to ‘free’ them, while their relatives sat closely by, weeping. The snakes, which were then in a clay pot, vomited huge sums of foreign currency mainly dollars, which Mallam Fatau threw into the air. While some onlookers scrambled for the notes, others feared they might be victims of strange ailments if they took the money home; so they avoided even touching it. Mallam Fatau folded incense in a white calico after healing the two of their infirmity and asked them to hold on to it as they repeated some words after him. The calico miraculously caught fire after which they were taken to the beach for cleansing. At the shores of Kokrobite, one of Mallam Fatau’s errand boys, Aziz, who took the boys through the cleansing process, first poured libation with a bottle of Kasapreko gin, a local alcoholic beverage. He then ordered the boys to undress, leaving only their boxers pants. Aziz put each of the two snakes around the necks of the two survivors and chanted some incantations before fetching the sea water to bathe them. One could see the two men were shuddering with fear as the snakes licked their salted bodies. Soon, the cleansing was over and the two were driven to Mallam Fatau’s residence at Nyamekye where they were allowed to tell their story, dressed in their white apparel with red calico bands around their necks. Mallam Fatau noted that he had embarked on a search to arrest Nana Ogya (under police escort) whom he said had some oil in his possession that could turn the snakes back into humans. However, while on his way, the engine of his vehicle developed a fault, making it impossible for him to reach his destination on time. He averred that he would do everything possible to arrest Nana Ogya or travel to Yeji in the Brong-Ahafo Region where he would bring some of the oil and a kind of talcum powder to smear on the two snakes so they would become human again. Mallam Fatau called on the public to desist from engaging in ritual money-making, advising the youth to work hard and pray for God’s blessings, which would eventually make them wealthy with no sorrows attached. As at press time yesterday, Mallam Fatau was on his way to feed the snakes. Meanwhile attempts to talk to the mother of one of the snakes, (Kwame Tetteh, 28), Madam Akos, has proven futile. However, Kofi Aboagye, the senior brother of Kofi Adjei, 28, (now snake) confirmed the story. He said whenever he went near the snake, the way it behaved proved to him that indeed that was his brother. Almost in tears, he called on the media to help find spiritualists who could assist Mallam Fatau to speed up the transformation process so their kin could come back home. He said they had earlier gone to several pastors who told them bluntly that there was nothing they could do about the situation of the snakes before they were brought to Mallam Fatau. Aboagye said, “It is only God we look up to”, stressing that if Mallam Fatau failed to transform his brother, they will come for the snake and look for another pastor or spiritualist who could help them. Source: