Whether you call it black magic, hoodoo or sorcery – witchcraft has always been part of the fabrics that make up South African football, and Tebogo Langerman shares his experiences.
Ranked among the best left-backs Mzansi has ever seen, Langerman enjoyed a trophy-laden nine years at Mamelodi Sundowns, winning multiple league titles, domestic cups and the 2016 Caf Champions League and made two appearances in the 2016 Fifa Club World Cup. But his journey has not always been smooth.
Langerman made his name at the now defunct Bidvest Wits where he played as a winger and finished as the team’s top goalscorer in only half a season. He then moved to SuperSport United in 2009 and that is when he got exposed to the dark world.
The stories of Timothy ‘RDP’ Nkosi where he fingers his teammates for bewitching him, and Bongani Ndulula detailing how witchcraft was some of the antics used to get ahead in the pecking order. There are many stories, and Langerman shares his chilling experience.
“At Bidvest Wits I never encountered such things because there were a lot of white players, so we did not do rituals. Then I moved to SuperSport United, there were some players from Limpopo. In my second week there, I’m on the pitch but I see water ahead of me, I don’t see other players. The game was on and I stopped because you can’t just dive into water, so I froze,” he said on Trap and Pass.
𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙉𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 4️⃣. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙚𝙛𝙩-𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙.
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) August 12, 2021
𝙏𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙜𝙤 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣 - 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜! 👆💛 #Sundowns #ThankYouLangerman pic.twitter.com/prqtCrmuHs
“Luckily the late Thomas Madigage saw me and then they prayed for me using water and I came back fine. I was on form, but those things came back again. When I was sleeping, I would see snakes and a lot of things. It got to the point that I could not sleep and when I had to play, I was tired.
“When you are supposed to enter the field and have to run, my legs would be locked, and I could not move as though there is something holding you back. I started reading the bible. I did not consult traditional healers; I only saw pastors and went to church.
The locked legs and swimming pool pitch are not all that Langerman experienced. Sundowns are known to give good remuneration, but Langerman took another step to make more money.
“I lived with a snake, but it was not for witchcraft, it was for money. I had a lot of money. I like pets and I am a person who likes animals,” said Langerman, before he recalled another story involving a snake.
“I stayed in an Estate, and I had two dogs, rottweilers. People could not pass because the dogs would climb the wall and they did not bite, they were big.
“The landlord’s child could not pass and kept complaining so the landlord called the SPCA. I was not around and when I came back, they told me they took my dogs.
“I went to the pet shop to buy other dogs that were smaller and when I got there, I saw a python. I bought it and told myself I’d throw it in the landlord’s yard because she took my dogs, and I was not happy.
“A Dog is like a friend, and I had love for them. I bought that python, and I let it starve for three days, and I took it, threw it over the wall and moved out at the same time. After some time, I regretted,” Langerman concluded.
