SASALEMANE - The community of Josepha next to Kruger National Park, is still reeling with the shock they received following the death of Nyiko Chauke Phamela (15), who is believed to have been killed for ritual purposes by three young men under the age of twenty.

According to Sasalemane police, Phamela was found lying in the road by a motorist, while he was driving from the Kruger National Park in the early hours of Monday last week.

The police said the motorist thought he had knocked down a person, only to establish that Phamela was motionless and cold. Two of Phamela’s friends, two girls both 15-years old were allegedly sitting nearby Phamela’s body while a 17-year old boy was found hiding nearby.

Although the two girls first claimed that Phamela was alive before the car knocked her down, the police became suspicious after they had established that there was a hole in Phamela’s head, which looked like a bullet wound.

It was later established that the three young girls where picked up by a white Venture and they allegedly went on a drinking spree with a few young men, all coming from a neighboring village of Matiyane.

According to a police spokesperson, it is alleged that the three boys killed Phamela and collected her blood because the owner of the vehicle allegedly claimed that a sangoma had instructed him to do so in order to boost his father’s taxi business.

All three young men and the two girls were arrested. When Mirror visited Phamela’s family at their home on Friday, they confirmed that the post mortem results released on Wednesday established that she had been killed. They were also busy with tomorrow’s funeral arrangements.