Horror as headless body is exhumed

Residents of Tshitavha Sambandou outside Thohoyandou watched in horror and disbelief on Tuesday, when police forensic officials and grave diggers exhumed a body at the local cemetery.

This follows startling and harrowing revelations by a 17-year-old local girl, who has just broken up with her 23-year-old boyfriend of three years. For some time, the girl has been living with a closely guarded secret with her lover.

The girl allegedly started staying with the boyfriend in 2015 when she was only 15 years old, but now spilled the beans after the break-up and told the community that she and the boyfriend vandalized graves and stole human parts to sell it off. She indicated two incidents where, in one instance, they stole the head of a deceased person and another incident where the bones of the deceased were removed.

She told the community that they sold the parts to traditional healers. The matter was reported to the police, who acted swiftly and applied for the exhuming of the bodies on the instructions of one of the families.

On Tuesday, hundreds of community members watched in horror as different units of the police took over the scene and dug up the body of Mr Alpheus Vhudzikadzika (74). He was buried last August and the corpse confirmed the claims of the girl as the body was found without a head.

Inside the grave, a knife and a piece of corrugated iron were also found, which residents believe were left by the thieves.

Incidents of ritual murder and witchcraft are rife in the village and residents speak in low tones when asked about this topic. Not long ago, a traditional healer, Vusiwana Baloyi from the same village, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the ritual murder of a woman from Shayandima, who had gone to him for a consultation. Although other names were mentioned during the trial, the others were not arrested and he was sentenced alone.

Mr Evans Vhudzikadzika, the younger brother of Mr Alpheus Vhudzikadzika, said they heard about the rumour last Tuesday. "We followed up the matter and it was reported to the police. We buried my brother with dignity last year and we always thought he was resting in peace. What happened is a shock and has left a wound in our hearts that will take a long time to heal."

He added that they were left with questions about the whereabouts of the head of their brother. “We are leaving everything to God and strongly believe that the police will do their job and arrest the perpetrator, so that he can face the consequences of his actions.” He also said that the family would like for the police to find the market for the body parts and arrest the buyers.

Sambandou civic secretary Mr Nkhiphiteni Mufamadi said rumours about the digging up of corpses had been doing the rounds for some time. "The girl has been telling people about the incident and, as the leadership, we called her and the police, and she pointed out the graves. We are calling for calm, and we have also advised the other family mentioned by the girl to have their grave dug up to ascertain the truth," he said.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, who was also at the scene, said they had opened cases of the vandalization of a grave and the desecration of a body. "The suspect is known to us, and it will be just a matter of time before we bring him to book. It is our duty to keep the girl safe and we are going to put her in the witness protection programme," he added.

Mojapelo added that the body would be sent for forensic testing. He urged the community to be calm and give the police all the information they have concerning the case.

The president of Vhembe Traditional Health Practitioners,  Maine Vho-Mbilivhili Neluvhola, came out strongly against the use of body parts by healers. "As traditional healers we are shocked by the latest development. We do not use body parts to give back health to our patients.
Those who use parts are not our members and should be arrested. We also urge the police to act swiftly on information they get from the community, and those arrested should not be granted bail," he said.

Date:01 September 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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