MAKONDE - Thohoyandou police have opened cases of ritual murder and attempted murder after the discovery of a body of a 25-year-old man whose private parts had been removed. Next to the body was an 18-year-old woman, who was in great pain, as her lips had been removed by the unknown assailants.

Both the dead man and the surviving woman, believed to be lovers, were half-naked and they had gaping wounds to their heads with blood all over their bodies. This horrifying scene was discovered by a man who was clearing bushes in the field at Makonde-Shadani, north of Thohoyandou, on Sunday morning. It is believed that the horrible act was committed on Saturday night.

The deceased was identified as Maanda Sendedza, a promising soccer star, and the surviving woman is Nyelisani Sidimela, both from Makonde village. A 27-year-old man from Thengwe was arrested for questioning in connection with the incident.

The scene clearly shows that there was a struggle before the man was murdered, as the grass and other vegetation was damaged. The woman, who was very weak and could not speak, was immediately rushed to the Donald Fraser Hospital for treatment. On Monday, she was transferred to the Garankuwa Hospital. According to the police, she is in a serious but stable condition.

Supt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi of the Vhembe police confirmed the incident. “The dead man and the injured woman were discovered at about 08:30 on Sunday morning. We strongly believe that the man was murdered for ritual purposes, as his private parts were removed. We also believe that the murderers were convinced that the woman was dead when they left. A very sharp object was used to remove the missing body parts and the couple had gaping wounds to their heads. The man seemed to have fought for his life, but it seems he was overpowered and lost the battle. He had neither underwear nor trousers and his shoes were missing, whereas the surviving woman’s underwear was also removed. This is one of the most horrifying and inhuman acts ever reported to us in the Vhembe area…”

Mushanamadi appealed to members of the community who know something about the incident to contact the police as a matter of urgency. “We have registered cases of murder and attempted murder but we cannot rule out the possibility of ritual murderer or a love triangle drama. We have so far arrested a 27-year-old friend of the injured woman for questioning. We request community members to assist us with information so that we can arrest those who committed this inhuman act. We are also working around the clock in our investigation and we expect to make more arrests very soon…”