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The body of Mashige is being carried to a waiting mortuary van after being found in bushes in Sibasa.

Murderers on the prowl?

 

With ritual murders being the talk of the town around the Vhembe district, most unexplained deaths are blamed on the body parts merchants in the area, who allegedly harvest the parts for financial gain.

One of the hardest-hit areas is the Mbilwi area outside Sibasa where, so far, at least six residents who had gone missing were later found dead in the village. In almost all the cases, residents have blamed ritual murderers for all the disappearances and subsequent deaths.

Angry and frustrated residents vented their anger on identified and suspected murderers whose properties were also burnt down.

Another resident, Mr Takalani Reckson Mashige (58), went missing on 26 January after telling family he was going to the clinic at Makwarela. He was never seen again, and his body was found in the nearby bushes last Friday. His body was found by sand miners, who were loading river sand next to the bushes.

Many at the scene believed that the man might have been killed somewhere else and then dumped there by the killers. The body had some visible bruises on the legs and indications were that it might have happened two or three days before. Plastic gloves suspected to have been used by those who had dumped the body were found not far from the body.

The discovery of the latest body has angered the residents. The scene, next to a busy road, was soon swarming with onlookers who wanted to have a glimpse of the dead man. Mr Patson Mashige, the deceased’s elder brother, said his brother left home just after five in the morning for a local clinic.

"He reached the clinic, as the records show, but he never came back. We have searched everywhere, but that did not yield any positive results," he said. He further said that it has been a very painful and traumatic experience for the family who were kept in suspense, not knowing where their loved one was or what had happened to him.

"We are left with many questions and hope that all will unfold as the police conduct their investigations," he said.

Mbilwi Civic leader Alson Ndanganeni said that the disappearance and killing of people in their area had become a source of great concern in the village. "So many people have disappeared and were later found dead here, and this is disturbing the peace in our area. When we received the latest missing-person report, we helped the family by going to different villages after receiving tip-offs, but we found nothing. We are just happy that he has since been found, and on Monday we accompanied the family to the hospital for the post mortem," he said.

He further indicated that the post mortem was conducted in their presence and no part was found to be missing. "We were shown the whole body and there were no visible physical injuries but only lacerations, and the family waited until they were satisfied that even the inner parts were intact," he said.

During a community mass meeting held at the local sports ground, residents were briefed by the civic leadership and the family and dispersed peacefully without incident.

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Captain Takalani Malogwe said they had opened an inquest docket.

Family members at the scene where the body was found.

Part of the crowd that gathered at the scene where the body was found.

A meeting was held at Mbilwi to give residents feedback about the post mortem.

 

Date:19 February 2017

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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