The community of Makuya and Tshitavha have made it clear that they will not allow the suspects arrested for the gruesome ritual murder of Mercy Ndou to be granted bail.
This was made clear during the appearance of the two suspects, traditional healer Nelson Baloyi and Desmond Nemushungwa, a government worker. During their appearance in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court on Monday, hundreds of residents from the two villages protested outside and demanded that the two should not be granted bail. The bail application could not continue and the matter was postponed to 6 August at the Makuya Magistrate's Court.
Community leader Nkhipitheni Mufamadi said they were worried, because they had had to travel from their villages to Thohoyandou, while the court at Makuya was functioning well. "We are dissatisfied with the way the case is being handled. Government said it was taking the courts to the people, and we strongly believe that the courts at Makuya have the capacity to handle such a case," he said. "We were supposed to be here in numbers to oppose bail, but due to the distance, many of us could not afford to come here."
Family spokesperson Pastor Jabulani Monegi was equally disappointed. "During the first appearance, the traditional healer pointed out in court that there were other people involved in the case, but so far, no other person or suspect has been arrested. We are worried that something is not going well with the case. There is miscommunication between the family and police, which leaves us in the dark about what is happening. We wonder why the police have not arrested anybody else so far," he said.
Ndou's mutilated body was found with body parts missing on 15 June, after she had gone missing from her sister Elisa Ndou's home in Shayandima on 27 May.
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