THOHOYANDOU - A suspect in a sensational ritual murder case, Albert Phosha (54) of Tshidzini Village on Tuesday admitted that he had been found in the possession of a human testicle, penis, tongue and lips when the police arrived at his home.

Phosha, during an application for bail in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court, revealed that he had received the body parts from a herb seller, Robert Dzebu. “Dzebu came to my home early in the morning and told me he had a nice parcel for me. When he opened the parcel, I found that it was human body parts. I asked him where he got them, and he told me he had bought them from an undertaker in Musina. I told him my practice did not use the blood of people, and he asked me to keep them for a while, as he feared the police on the road. I kept the body parts in a tin which I stored in the cleft of a tree at my home. Dzebu never came back until the police arrested him.”

The testicle, tongue and penis were allegedly removed from the murdered Maanda Sendedza and the lips from Ms Nyelisani Sidimela, who survived the attack and is receiving treatment in the Garankuwa Hospital.

Phosha said that the lips had been roasted and that he paid Dzebu R1 500. He added that, after a few days, Eddie Tshimomo Munyai came to his home, carrying a bag “and he told me he had a parcel for me. When he opened it, I found it contained a human head, leg and ribs and Tshimomo said Robert Dzebu had sent him to me. I decided to throw them into the river, but we finally buried them near the Mutshundudi River.”

Phosha admitted that being found in possession of human body parts is an offence, but he said that he was not a ritual murderer. Applying for bail, Phosha’s lawyer, Mr Wisani Baloyi from Mainganye Attorneys, said that his client was cooperative because he was the one who showed the police where the body parts were. “His passport has been confiscated and he cannot disappear,” Baloyi said. “For the sake of his safety, if bail is granted, he will be staying in Krugersdorp.”

The investigator from the Serious Violent Crime Unit in Thohoyandou, whose name cannot be revealed, said Phosha must not be granted bail because he may hinder the police’s investigation. He added that Phosha has a pending case in Mutale, where he was allegedly involved in the ritual murder of a foreigner, whose body was found without head, ribs or legs.

Phosha has four wives and 15 children, and he has been a traditional healer since 1974.

Chief Azwianewi Ravhura of Makonde village said that villagers are angry, and granting Phosha bail would cause havoc in the area. To prove that villagers were still angry, they burnt one of the suspect’s houses during Maanda Sendedza’s funeral.

At the time of going to press, it was still not certain if the court would be granting bail to Phosha.