The bereaved family of the latest victim of a suspected ritual murder is accusing the Levubu SAPS of dragging their feet in closing the net on two prime suspects, who they allege have killed their breadwinner.

Upon visiting the Phosa family at Ha-Mashau, Tshirando, on Tuesday, Mirror heard that the main suspect of the alleged ritual killing of Mr Itani John Phosa (55), is related to the victim. The second suspect was described as a close friend of the main suspect.

These suspects, according to the Phosa family, were seen driving a in vehicle with the deceased before he disappeared on Sunday, August 27. According to the deceased’s sister, Mrs Joyce Matodzi Phosa, on Saturday, the main suspect sent someone to pick up the deceased as he (the suspect) wouldl be holding a braai. "On Sunday, my brother indicated that he was going to visit our sister at Chabane before he returned to work in Gauteng. While waiting for the taxi at the bus stop, the second suspect arrived and volunteered to drop my brother at Diza in Bungeni. That's how my brother went missing and was later found floating in a river at Makhado," she said weeping.

Mirror has the full names of the two alleged ritual murder suspects. On Monday, August 28, the desolate family went to the alleged prime suspect’s household at Ha-Mashau to ask him if he knew the whereabouts of the deceased, but they did not find him. After contacting him telephonically, the family alleged that the suspect told them that he had been on his way to Pretoria with the person who gave the deceased a lift to Bungeni ( the second suspect).

A son of the deceased, Awelani Phosa, said that he was shocked when his aunt at Chabane told him that his father never came to see her on Sunday. "When she told me that she was not aware that my dad had just returned from Gauteng, I then concluded that there was something fishy with my father's disappearance," he said. Awelani said that after searching for his father at the homes of local relatives, without success, he and other family members went to the Levubu SAPS to open a missing persons case.

"The following day, we went to the second suspect, who admitted to giving my father a lift to the Bungeni taxi rank. He further claimed my father had been the only passenger in the taxi he took at Bungeni," he said. Awelani further alleged that the suspect also indicated that he could not remember or identify the taxi, a statement which he later changed in front of the police. "When we went to his household with the police, he claimed that he could identify the taxi and its driver. That's when he told us that we must begin searching for my father at the Ribolla mountain and Chabane graveyards. When we asked him, he could not elaborate further. When went to the main suspect, he also told us to look for my dad at Ribolla and the Chabane graveyard, but I was shocked that the police did not detain the two for questioning," he alleged.

The family also alleged that the main suspect even told them that the deceased would be found before or on (last) Friday. The family further alleged that, during a community gathering held at the headman's kraal, the two suspects continuously contradicted each other, which prompted the family to contact the police once more. In expressing their deep concern and frustration caused by the police’s conduct, Mrs Joyce Phosa alleged that Insp Nemaunguni from the Levubu SAPS refused their presence during the questioning of the taxi driver from Bungeni. "When we phoned them to come and collect information from the community gathering, upon their arrival, the police were rude and intimidating," she alleged.

According to Joyce, when the two police officers approached the bereaved family, they indicated they would wait for Insp Nemaunguni to arrive as well. "We were shocked to see the vehicle of the main suspect dropping Insp Nemaunguni. Nemaunguni asked who had phoned the station, at the same time threatening to arrest us. We tried to give information, but he insisted that our information was not important and that we had no concrete proof," she alleged.

The family members indicated that when they received a call from a relative who was in town, informing them of the discovery of a lifeless body floating in a dam in Makhado, the eldest son of the deceased, Tshimangadzo Phosa, on arrival identified his father by his clothes. Tshimangadzo said that he is convinced that his father is the victim of ritual murder. "His tongue, lips and chin were missing when my father was discovered. We discovered all his belongings in his possession. We would like to thank the man who bravely jumped into the river to retrieve my father from the river in front of the police, who were reluctant to go inside the water. We wish him all the best. We would like to meet him again, especially during the funeral," he said.

The Phosa family further told Mirror that they could not tell if the police had opened a case of ritual murder or not since the discovery of Mr John Phosa. The mayor of the Makhado Municipality,cllr Tsakani Glory Mashaba, who visited the family on Tuesday, expressed her concern about the handling of the case by the police. "After listening to the statements of the family, one could see that if the police had strengthened their efforts in arresting the suspects, some progress would have been made. We don't want these barbaric acts in our municipal area; it is up to us as people to come forward with information," she said.