Residents of Manamani Village, where the body of Mulweli Nemadandila (7) was found floating in the Dzondo River a week ago, is up in arms after the findings of the state pathologist indicated that the boy was eaten by fish.

Limpopo’s MEC for Safety, Security and Liason, Machwewne Semenya visited Manamani Village on Friday, as the situation became more tense. Villagers strongly believe that the boy was murdered for muti as some of his body parts were missing.

Much to the relief of the villagers, the MEC told them that the case would now be removed from the local police and handed over to the expertise of the provincial investigative team. “This case is now in the hands of the provincial commissioner and we will make sure that no stone is left unturned to get to the bottom of the case…”

Villagers say they are worried that the prime suspects are known, but the police are dragging their feet in arresting them. One of the suspects in the village has allegedly vowed to tell everything about the murder, provided he can turn state witness. The angry villagers say the boy will not be buried until they conduct their own post mortem with their own private pathologist.

In a community meeting held recently, villagers agreed that they would contribute R10 per household to hire an independent pathologist to conduct a post mortem. “While we were still busy collecting the money, we were surprised to receive the autopsy from the state pathologist indicating that the boy was eaten by fish! Who told them to conduct the post mortem? We suspect there is foul play because it is the same doctor who did the autopsy on the previous two victims who we are convinced were also ritual murder victims.

The mere fact that the boy was found in the river is turning everything upside down. We will not rest until justice has been done. If we do not do something now, we will all die because every one of us is a potential victim of ritual murder,” said Magodi Solomon, the village Sanco chairperson.

Villagers also argue that the boy did not drown, as his stomach was not filled with water, when he was retrieved. Family members also say they know nothing of a steel nappy tightener (haka) which was found on the boy’s trousers when he was retrieved.

In a memorandum handed to the MEC, the villagers demanded that the suspects be arrested immediately and that they be denied bail. They also rejected the results of the post mortem and said the local river does not have big fish which selectively eat certain parts of a human body in a methodical way. They further indicated that they had enough evidence that is was a ritual murder and pleaded with the MEC to tackle the case, as they have lost hope with the local police. The memorandum also dismissed the doctors’ report that fish had been nibbling on the body, as the dead boy had black muti on the fishing rod tied to his hand, while his testicles had been cut off with a sharp object.

Responding to the memorandum, MEC Semenya said it was the collective responsibility of the community and the government to reduce the level of crime in the country, especially ritual murder. “We will definitely send a team of experienced investigators and I urge the community to give them information so that the perpetrators can be brought to book. We will not tolerate the situation where our people are murdered on a daily basis while the suspects are roaming the streets…”

The MEC urged the community to be patient and not to take the law into their own hands. “We will give you a full report after the investigations but you must not do anything that can detract from our investigations…”

She then visited the dead boy’s family to convey her condolences.

Mulweli’s grieving mother, Meriam, was having difficulty speaking as she was weeping for her beloved boy. “My only hope is you, the MEC. Please make sure that the people who murdered my boy are arrested,” was all she could say.

The MEC later visited the site where the little boy’s body had been discovered.

MEC Semenya further said she would persue the cases of the late Maanda Sendedza whose private parts and tongue had been cut off in a ritual murder practice last year. Nyelisani Sidimela’s lips were also cut off during the incident. She also said her department would look at the case where the skull, ribs and legs of a Mafukani man had been retrieved from the ground at Tshidzini village. Four traditional healers are in custody following the incidents.

“We will obviously take the cases to the provincial investigative team if it is true that there are known suspects who are still free. Our duty is to monitor the police and make sure that they are carrying out their duties effectively. We are only waiting for a detailed report; otherwise the law will take its course accordingly…”