NEWS & ANALYSIS

"Skull in a bag!" - Daily Sun

"That's what cops found in a sangoma's car at a roadblock!" - front page lead, December 30 2014

Daily Sun (December 30 2014) - IT WAS JUST a routine roadblock as part of the festive season crime-busting operations.

But there was nothing routine in what the cops found in the boot of the sangoma's car.

INSIDE A PLASTIC BAG LAY A HUMAN SKULL . . . AND THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING!

When the cops went to the man's house in Sharpeville in the Vaal, they found more body parts and containers of muthi.

The sangoma is a Lesotho national who allegedly did his training in that country. The cops made the horror discovery when they stopped him at the roadblock south of Joburg last Monday.

At first, the man refused to have his suspicious plastic bag searched.  When the cops insisted and grabbed the plastic bag, the man disappeared into the bushes. When the cops went to the man's shack, they found more human remains. They also found several containers filled with different kinds of muthi.

The sangoma (26) handed himself over to the cops the following day and was charged with murder.

He appeared in the Vereeniging Magistrates Court and was denied bail. He is currently being held at the Leeuhof Correctional Centre.

Sebokeng SAPS cluster spokesman Sergeant Simon Mofokatsane referred Daily Sun's questions to his provincial superior Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, who had not responded at the time of going to print.

Oupa Shumeni, the National Coordinator of the National Unitary Professional Association for African Traditional Health Practitioners, said they strongly condemn the actions of the man. "This is totally unacceptable. Our traditional healers are well-trained professionals in their craft. Our code of conduct clearly states that the use of human parts in muthi will not be tolerated," he said.

See the Daily Sun's new website for more on this and other stories....

 

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 274 165 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2014) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

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