Body parts 'harvested for muti'

25 May 2010, 08:02

Two mutilated bodies - that of a 28-year-old man and a nine-year-old girl - were discovered in two different areas on the same day.

This has led police in Gauteng to launch a focused investigation into ritual killings.

The body of a naked man was discovered hidden in the long grass of an open veld in the Motsoaledi informal settlement in Soweto just after lunch on Saturday. The man's hands and legs had been bound.

His nose and ears had been removed. A pair of socks was tied around his neck, but he appeared to have no visible injuries. His clothes lay scattered next to him. His name is yet to be released.

On the same day, the body of the nine-year-old girl was found in Alberton. She, too, had body parts removed.

According to the police, the girl had been on her way to a nearby shop on Friday when she went missing. Her body was discovered in the veld the following day.

Police sources said investigators believe both were ritual killings and that their body parts were "harvested" for muti.

A Motsoaledi informal settlement resident, Siphiwe John, said: "That's such a cruel thing to do. He was naked. I saw one ear had been cut off and the nose was missing.

"Why kill someone and make them suffer even after they are dead? Who wants to be exposed like that? This is appalling," John said.

Although the body was discovered two days ago and had been removed, John has been unable to get the image out of his mind.

"I am anxious to know why he was killed in that manner. There were no bloodstains or any other injuries on the body, except the parts that were cut off. He was still a young man."

John said police had recovered a driving licence from the man's pocket, which indicated that he had been born in 1982.

"He is not from this area. Nobody recognised him," John said.

Diepkloof police spokesman Captain Philemon Khorombi said they were still trying to track down the man's family.

Now the residents are worried because they walk through the stretch of veld on a daily basis to get to the nearby factories.

After the gruesome discovery, they said they were too scared.

Nwabisa Luwela, 26, said people walked through the veld to get to work.

"This is the only route available. We know this place is not safe, especially at night. People get raped and are mugged when it gets dark. After the body was found, we were all shaken.

"My mind is still reeling from what I saw. That man was killed brutally," she said.

Luwela added: "They must cut this grass because it's too long. You don't know what's lurking in there. There must find something useful to do with this piece of land."

A hawker, Lelita Tsombe, was still selling her wares a few metres away from where the body was discovered.

"I heard about it on Saturday. I am scared, but there is nothing I can do. I have to stand here all day and sell to my customers," she said in a shaky voice.

In a separate incident last month, the body of a businessman hijacked in Vereeniging was found in his car in Fochville. He also had several body parts missing.

His body was discovered by police when the car overturned while his hijackers were making their getaway.

One man managed to run away, but the other was trapped in the car. He led police to his friend and both were arrested.


This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on May 25, 2010

Comments by Sonny

Only in SA.

Barbarians in our midst!

Or is it just a cultural affair.

Protest in Sweden over 'genocide' in SA

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Apr 24 2010 07:33


An ultra-right wing group calling for an end to "genocide in South Africa" burned a South African flag during a protest march to the embassy in Stockholm, an embassy official confirmed on Friday.

The protesters -- between 50 to 60 people -- marched to the South African embassy in Stockholm on April 17, said the embassy's first secretary-political, Eden Reid.

The protest march by the Swedish Resistance Movement -- a fringe, Neo-Nazi organisation -- culminated in the movement placing the embers of the flag and a leaflet in the embassy's post box.

The leaflet read: "Since 1994 more than 3 000 white farmers have been murdered in the 'rainbow nation' South Africa.

"Apart from this, violence is directed against whites in general because of their race. Brutal murders and rapes have increased by 25% since 2005 and robberies are more [the] rule than exception."

It added that the leader of the ANC Youth League "is singing songs about how to 'kill the Boer, kill the farmer'," in reference to ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

"... And this in a country that will host the Soccer World [Cup] in two months.

"The governments of the world, including the Swedish, are supporting this terrorist regime inciting the ongoing genocide.

"This summer, will you be watching soccer from a country where the government is urging on the genocide of whites? Will you ignore the murders of your race kindred?"

CONTINUES BELOW



Reid said the embassy was fully briefed about the protest by the Swedish police and added that it proceeded peacefully with "more police than protesters" present.

Terre'Blanche 'honoured'
While the embassy was closed on Saturday, Reid went into the office to monitor the situation. She commended the police's handling of the protest.

Protesters carried the "Vierkleur" flags and that of the SRM. They also carried a portrait of the murdered leader of the AWB, Eugéne Terre'Blanche, who was "honoured" during the protest.

A banner read: "Stop the boer genocide" in bright red ink, with the ANC's emblem beside it and a large panga in the background.

According to an account of the protest on the SRM website, the movement had a brief run-in with a "leftist mob", holding their own "counter-demonstration".

Once outside the embassy, they also "ripped the ANC flag in anger, to give a hint of his feeling about the presence of the ANC in Sweden!", the website said.

Reid said the embassy understood that the SRM did not enjoy popular support in Sweden, which she described as a "cosmopolitan, tolerant" society.

Terre'Blanche's death on April 3 at his farm outside Ventersdorp prompted fears of a right-wing backlash. However, the threat by AWB members to avenge his death was later retracted.

The organisation back-tracked, saying emotions were high at the time.

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe last week raised concern over the "apparent rise of the right wing" in South Africa.

"It is our responsibility to pay attention to that issue because where I am seated I think that is the most clear and glaring challenge facing our movement today, as we sit here," Mantashe said.

Malema used as 'trigger'
He said the right wing had used Malema as a "trigger" to push its own agenda.

Brandishing the Vierkleur and the apartheid era flags should not be dismissed as a "small issue".

"It is an express defiance of progress and the intention to reverse progress ... their intention is going to be exposed without any scapegoat from ourselves," he said at the time. - Sapa
TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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PEOPLE

Eugene Terre’Blanche
ORGANISATIONS

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
Swedish Resistance Movement


COMMENTS

The nuts are to be found all over the the globe today.
Chris Potgieter on April 24, 2010, 10:42 am
This did not even reach the news in Sweden
Piet Smit on April 24, 2010, 10:50 am
Crime and violence in SA affects everyone, not just white people. In fact, it affects black people far more who suffer on a daily basis from crime, violence, and creeping corruption that is beginning to affect all organs of state from bribe taking policemen to corrupt home affairs officials. It is rubbish to suggest that it's a racial issue. It affects EVERYONE.
Mark Robertson on April 24, 2010, 11:24 am
Mark, you are quite correct when sayng that crime affects everybody. There is a couple of things to bear in mind, though. First and foremost, I am not a member of any far right or ultra right party or movement, nor can I ever see myself fit in , they are just too radical for my liking. However, you will have to agree that their gripe about farm murders, do have merit in it. You see Mark, it is not the crime which is stirring the emotions, it is the way in which the crime is committed. The problem of violent crime in itself isn't just exclusively for farm murders, it is moving into the suburbs as well. Just think about it, just this week, a man was tied up, beaten to death in front of his wife and four year old daughter, then wife was raped repeatedly by five accomplices while the other was busy assaulting the little kid. Both mom and daughter survived, is in hospital in a serious but stable condition, both scarred for life. Also a sixty odd year old man , beaten to death in his home, nothing missing. Then we have the last case where a nanny and a one year old baby girl was beaten savagely, just to steal a laptop and modem. This is only three cases that I highlight for you, the point being that this savagery is but a normal occurence in farm attacks. If you really look into it, you will find that a lot of the victims were horribly mutilated and tortured before death finally set in.

Mark, I don't care what anybody say, I believe that if just one person is murdered, it is one too many. The farming community have approached the government how many times to ask for help and protection, which by the way is their constitutional right, only to be patted on the head, a lot of false promises made, a lot of remarks like "You are responsible yourself for these attacks" made, but action, don't you believe it. Instead politicians and wannabe politicians dance around on platforms singing kill the boer. Could you then judge these guys when they are grasping at straws when somebody promises help? I think not.


Until such time as the government stops ruling and start to govern and do something about the scourge that is crime, espescially violent crime, nothing will change and people will keep on falling victim to these ultra right movements. Sad but true.
Sinter Klaas on April 24, 2010, 12:39 pm

Mail & Guardian

Comments by Sonny

We have many friends overseas and more in SA!

PRAAG is only one such organisation.

An injury to one, is an injury to ALL!