“Mozambicans are hard workers and not ritual murderers”

Mozambicans living in South Africa were given a tongue lashing when their ambassador in South Africa recenty visited them at Xiphuraphureni, where a man was recently found ritually murdered.

Ambassador Fernando Fazenda visited the area a fortnight ago, after an outcry about crimes, which included the recent ritual murder, where a 20-year-old man was chopped to death and body parts removed. The parts were allegedly to be sold for R100 000.

The dead man, Ndhuma Claude Miyambo, was lured from Nkowankowa with the promise of a job in the Malamulele area. While being taken to the prospective "employer", he was attacked from behind and chopped with an axe. His death ignited an outcry from the community, fearing that the ugly crime of ritual murders was back again in the Vhembe area

After his death, community members struggled to take the body home for burial. He has since been buried at his home village in Mozambique with the help of relatives.

The ambassador and his entourage, which included Mozambican consul Ms Ester Tondo, was warmly welcomed by the residents. Fazenda said they were in the area because of the bad publicity the community was receiving after the ritual murders of one of them, allegedly by fellow countrymen.

“Ritual murder is not our culture and when we hear of it from among our people, it makes us very sad and disappointed. Our people are known for working very hard, and we receive accolades wherever we go because of the dedication our people put into any type of work," he said. He urged his people not to copy foreign habits that brought the dignity of Mozambicans into disrepute. He also urged them to work hand in hand with the police in order to fight criminality among them.

One of the local community leaders, Mr Eric Masungwini, told the visitors that the perpetrators of the crime were not local people but from outside. "We have been staying here for the past 20 years and nothing of this sort has ever happened. We are not involved in this thing; it was done by people from outside this area," he said.

News - Date: 14 August 2014

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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