Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Mrs Fulufhelo Florence Radzilani lashed out at traditional healers who still believe that body parts can be used to heal people. She was speaking during a special meeting with traditional healers and the police in Makhado on Monday.

Radzilani said that engaging in ritual murder was a crime and inhumane and cruel. She said that those found  engaging in ritual murders would be put behind bars where they belonged. Radzilani added that her department would try by all means to ensure that all citizens were protected.

"The ANC government fought for a better life for all and not that people must kill others." She indicated that the police, together with traditional healers, could win the war against ritual murders. She said that it was very disturbing that people still believed that they could get lucky from somebody's blood.

"Stay away from ritual killings," Radzilani warned. She further appealed to all traditional healers not to engage in ritual killings. According to Radzilani, the Vhembe District is number one in terms of ritual killings in the province. "It is only in Vhembe where we hear of ritual killings. This is not happening in other districts in the province," said Radzilani.

Her visits comes after a sangoma and his five co-accused were arrested for allegedly ritually killing the 52-year-old Mr Philip Bendzani, a resident of Ha-Mutonga village outside Elim. The incident happened at Munuzwu Farm near Sweet Waters three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the president of the SADC Unified Ancestors Traditional Practitioners Association, Dr Sylvester Hlathi, dismissed claims that body parts could be used as traditional medicine. He said that there was just a demon in society that made people kill unnecessarily. "Real traditional healers do not kill people. It is very painful to see traditional healers engaging in ritual killings," he said.

Hlathi added that people must know that not everybody is a traditional healers. "Traditional healing is just a calling. Other people claim that they are traditional healers when they are not. Traditional healers who are affiliated with our organisation do not engage in ritual killing," Hlathi said.