Freedom Park residents on Thursday burnt a chick they believe was cursed, after finding it draped in a red and white cloth used by sangomas (traditional healers). A woman found the chicken at the window of her room, said resident Rebecca Mosala. Next to it were beets and two small bottles thought to contain muti. On one was written "imfene" (baboon) and on the other "mamlambo" (watersnake). Mosala said priests had held a prayer meeting against witchcraft on Tuesday night. They had said something would happen in the morning. Residents took the chicken to a sports ground where they doused it with paraffin and set it alight. "It burst into the air when it caught fire," she said. "We wanted to see what will come out of it, but it just burnt to ashes." Radio Mafisa station manager Ntsiki Fongoma, who was at the scene, said the chicken exploded and the explosion fuelled the fire. "It was a loud bang that made people run for cover," he said. He said that the woman who found the chicken had told the community that her week-old baby was restless and cried at night. She found the chicken while doing laundry on Thursday morning. Residents believed that the chicken was intended to bring a curse on the community.-Sapa