OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Monday 6.00pm
POLICE have launched an investigation into the traffic of human body parts for witchcraft after a series of five murders in Mpumalanga, police said on Monday.
Four decapitated adult corpses and a child’s head have been discovered since September in the Delmas region, an agricultural town about 100km east of Johannesburg.
Police believe that the victims — three women, a man and a child — were killed by an organised gang which provides ingredients for “muti” or traditional medicine.
“The way the bodies were mutilated tells us that the slayings are definitely that of muti-murderers,” said police Captain Danny Hall, who is leading the investigation.
Muti, used by traditional healers or sangomas, usually combines herbs, roots, leaves or animal parts to concoct potions. Particularly strong muti often requires human body parts to imbue the recipient with superhuman powers.
According to traditional beliefs, the use of human organs increases the power of the muti, particularly in business affairs.
Four years ago, a man was condemned to life imprisonment for the murders of six children after a Johannesburg businessman had placed an order for specific human organs for a muti designed to ensure the success of his taxi business.
Investigators in Delmas have interviewed several traditional healers during the course of their inquiry into the murders, but these have yielded little in the way of leads.
“To kill is a big risk, (but) there is a lot of money involved,” Hall said. In the gruesome trade, a human heart is currently worth around R10000 – or $1600.
In recent years, South African authorities have tried to stop the ritual murders by strengthening legislation and organising information campaigns. — AFP
Meanwhile, the first of five decapitated people were finally identified on the weekend. Farm labourers stumbled on the most recent victim, a decomposing and headless middle-aged woman, two weeks ago.
Three other badly decomposed and headless bodies have been found dumped in local fields around Sundra over the past six months. An equal number of heads were found dumped in streams and rivers near the neighbouring town of Delmas, almost 25km away. Only two of the heads have bodies.