ADVERTISEMENT:

 
 

Locals watch in disbelief as the grave of Mr Alpheus Phundulu is found to be empty.

No body in grave ...

 

The ruthless demon of harvesting human body parts for sale that raised its ugly head and climaxed around 2006 in Vhembe is back to haunt the region.

The cruel scourge that resulted in many people's losing their lives for their body parts also led to the arrest of many, and some of those convicted of this heinous crime were sentenced to long prison terms.

This age-old belief that human body parts can be used for ritual purposes to effect a certain outcome has taken a new turn in the Tshitavha Sambandou area, where graves are now becoming the targets of thieves who steal body parts of buried people.

Last week this paper ran a story about the grave of the late Mr Alpheus Vhudzikadzika that was vandalized and the head of the deceased was found to be missing. The exhumation of the body came about after startling revelations by a 17-year-old girl, who spilled the beans after breaking up with her boyfriend, aged 23.

The girl had earlier on indicated that she, together with her former boyfriend, had desecrated another grave where they stole the whole body that was buried there. The other family did not take her seriously, but when they realized that what she had said about the other grave was true, they also applied for their deceased relative's body to be exhumed.

A week after the first exhumation, the second family's fears were confirmed when the grave of Mr Alpheus Phundulu (81) was opened and the body of the old man was missing. The community members who had gathered at the gravesite left the local graveyard very disturbed after it was discovered that the grave was empty.

The angry residents started blockading the streets with rubble and burning tyres.

Ms Joyce Phundulu, daughter of the late Alpheus Phundulu, said they had buried their father in 2007 and had all along been thinking that he was resting in peace. "We started hearing the rumours some weeks ago, but we did not take them seriously. We only realised that the girl's allegations were real when the other grave she pointed out was found with the head missing.”

She added that what they had found was shocking, as “the grave was empty and left with nothing. This is very disturbing and as a family we are quite saddened. We are left with only a grave and the body of our father is nowhere to be seen.”

A member of the community who preferred to remain anonymous said a market for body parts was thriving in the area and that the whole community now feared that their loved ones were not resting in peace. At the graveyard, members of families of those buried there were seen checking on the graves of their loved ones. Some of those who were checking said some of the graves had been tampered with.

The area is not new to the ritual-murder rumours. For years, residents have complained of people going missing and some ending up killed.

Not long ago, traditional healer Mr 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 consultation.

Mr Nkhiphiteni Mufamadi of the Tshitavha Sambandou civic expressed his shock after the latest incident. "Residents are angry here. The whole incident was not handled properly by our leaders, because we were supposed to have met as a village to discuss this issue, but this never happened. Our people need to be briefed by the police, the traditional leadership and us as a civic, but this is not happening here, thereby adding to the problem," he said.

Maine Vho-Matamba Mamuremi of the Vhangona Traditional Health Practitioners came out spitting fire against the practice of body parts for sale. "As traditional healers, we have heard that body parts were used as medicine, but we, the present crop, know that body parts will not heal a patient. We only use herbs as prescribed by our ancestors and do not kill our clients," he said.

He further indicated that all their members were on a database and had a constitution which, if breached, constituted an immediate dismissal from the organization. 

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said a task team would be led by Maj-Gen Bafana Linda to deal with cases of ritual murders and the recent trend of robbing graves of body parts. "We are looking for Mr Daniel Nephawe and traditional healer Eric Mapepe Kwinda of Tshikonelo, who can help us in this investigation.”

He also called for calm in the area, following violent protests that took place in the area last night after the exhumation of the second grave.

Those with information that can help solve this case can contact the toll-free crime stop number, 0860 010 111.

 

Ms Joyce Phundulu stands next to the grave where her late father was buried.

Maine Vho-Matamba Mamuremi said that traditional healers should only use herbs prescribed by the ancestors.

 

Date:09 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.

Read: 3921

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

ADVERTISEMENT:

ADVERTISEMENT:

 

Recent Articles

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Popular Articles