In this edition of My Muti Story, KickOff catches up with Kaizer Chiefs legend Gardner Seale.
Seale responds to those who believe owing a sangoma is the reason Amakhosi are no longer dominating in local football.
Who and where?
"Muti, we've all been there and done that, but to be honest, the performance that Kaizer Chiefs used to dish out in the late eighties and early nineties had nothing to do with muti.
"Compared to what the other guys from the other teams were going through, it means what we used to do at Chiefs is muti lite.
"The only two things we used to do at Chiefs was steaming and ukugcaba. That was the most of it. We were never taken to a river, or made to drink something. That is too extreme.
"There was this muti man who would lie to the club, he'd tell the club he was on his way to Swaziland to get some very powerful muti, when in truth he was just hiding somewhere in Joburg. He was Zimbabwean [laughs]."
Why were you doing it?
"The only thing I remember is that we would be made to steam three times a week when we were about to face Orlando Pirates. I'd jump around repeating words like, Vimba Bashin, uyaphi wena? Vimba Bashin, uyaphi wena? Vimba Bashin, uyaphi wena? [In a Zimbabwean accent].
"Bashin Mahlangu was my immediate opponent in the Soweto Derby, but they never explained why we had to say such things.
"But against the other teams we would steam only once a week."
Who was the muti man?
"He wasn't solely a muti man, he was also a driver, a messenger, a kit manager and everything else. Sometimes he would even be Kaizer Motaung's chauffeur."
What did you have to do?
"We mostly played for our coach Jeff Buttler. We didn't play to satisfy the muti man, supporters, and the club."
Did everyone take part?
"Of course, who are you to say no when the likes of Shane and Bailey have already agreed to do it. I remember one time I had a problem with ukugcaba, but I couldn't succeed because in front of me there was Gary Bailey and Shane McGregor who were prepared to be cut with a razor blade, so who was I to refuse?"
What stood out?
"It only works on those who believe in it. Muti, it motivates you though. Players who believes in muti, when they enter the pitch, they do so with so much energy, just like boxers do, they are raring to go.
"And it's difficult to deal with such people because they enter the field with their blood already boiling.
"So at Chiefs we had no one like that, there were games we won convincingly without using muti."