Mpho Dube

Killing for body parts has re-emerged to haunt the province.

The last wave of this problem in Limpopo was in 2006. Now the lull has ended, as cases of murder for body parts are being reported here and other regions of the country. Through a combination of fear and anger, people have resorted to violence to respond to the senseless killings.

The police in Sekgosese have arrested two suspects aged 17 and 18 who tried to take the law into their own hands.

The teens face public violence and malicious damage to property charges after a mob went on the rampage at Lemondokop. Police spokesperson Lt-Col Mohale Ramatseba yesterday said a group of people went to the home of a 59-year-old man at Lemondokop and stoned his house and car. The community accused the man of “ritual” murder.

People claimed a 47-year-old man who died in a tractor accident in January was the victim such a killing, as his body parts were allegedly removed. But an autopsy did not confirm that claim.

“More arrests are expected soon,” added Ramatseba. “We urge people not to take the law into their own hands and report any information about crime suspects.”

Earlier this year, a decomposing body of a woman who had been missing for two days was found in a mealie field at Mavambe near Malamulele in Mopani district.

Col Motlafela Mojapelo said the murder is a sequel to an incident where Grace Mphephu, 45, went missing after she took her child to a nearby clinic for medical treatment on January 21.

He said the police and members of the community launched an intensive search for the missing woman until her body was found two days later in a mealie field close to Mavambe Village.

Premier Cassel Mathale has asked police to intensify their investigations into the two killings.

Mathale appealed to residents of Malamulele to practice restraint. “The community must contain their tempers as the police are trying to bring suspects to book. We are calling on the police to act swiftly to arrest the people involved in the murders,” he said.

Last month the mutilated body of a 74-year-old woman, Tsatsawane Macheke, was discovered in her house at Mahonisi Village with some body parts missing.

The community ran amok after another body was discovered in a trench in the vicinity. However, initial investigations could not directly link the murder to killings for body parts.

Mathale attended Macheke’s funeral in sympathy with the family and the shocked community.

Meanwhile, according to 2006 report of the Task Team on “ritual” murders in Limpopo, the resurgence of the murders in Limpopo has had a devastating effect on families and communities. Vhembe is one of the hardest-hit regions.

The legislature hearings on the body parts murder in the Mutale area confirmed the view that many people are continuing to live in fear.

Known ritual murder trials from the area include the highly publicised case of State v Shumani Dzebu, Mukondeleli Phosha and others, who were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Maanda Sendedza and attempted murder of Nyelisani Sidimela.

There are also many other murder cases or cases of missing persons where the police are not able to immediately determine whether body parts were involved.

“This refers to those cases where the deceased were found murdered in the bush with no evidence of severing of body parts or human organs missing. Nonetheless, the police are continuing to investigate those cases where we feel sufficient evidence exists to secure arrests and convictions,” the report said.

Meanwhile, Sapa reports that four people were expected to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court yesterday for allegedly killing a man, removing his body parts and then making the crime look like a suicide.

Munyaradzi Muthethwa, a Zimbabwean citizen, was found hanging from a tree near Mathombo Lodge on Friday, Lt-Col Ronel Otto said.

Both his eyeballs and genitals had been cut out. Four Zimbabwean men aged between 17 and 31 have been arrested.