Four suspects have been arrested in the widely talked about grave robbery case.
The arrests follow after local police had established a task team to crack the case. Over the last two weeks police have exhumed two graves with either no remains inside or corpses with missing body parts. Police were following up on information that was revealed by a 17-year-old girl who alleged that she and her boyfriend used to dig up graves at Tshitavha Village, near Thohoyandou. They allegedly sold the body parts to customers who supply the local muti market.
The girl has since been placed in a witness protection program for her own safety.
Last Wednesday (6 September) Erick Kwinda (39) was one of the first suspects to be arrested. He appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court the following day on a single count of defeating the ends of justice. He was denied bail and will remain in custody until his next court appearance on 30 October. According to the provincial police spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, more charges could be levied against Kwinda as the investigations continue.
Shortly after Kwinda appeared in court, two more suspects, aged 20 and 29, were also arrested in connection with the case. They are expected to appear before the Thohoyandou Magistrate's court on Monday, 11 September (today) on charges relating to the violation of graves and corpses.
Over the weekend the police arrested a fourth suspect in the case. The 23-year-old man has been identified by police as their prime suspect in the matter and the boyfriend of the 17-year-old girl. He was found on Saturday, 9 September, in the Western Cape in a town house in George.
Keep on reading the Limpopo Mirror to see how the story unfolds.