Hundreds of angry demonstrators bayed for the blood of a mother and her three sons who briefly appeared in the Makuya Periodical Court, near Tshikondeni Mine, on Wednesday last week.

Sarah Ramshia (49) and her sons, Ndivhuwo Muleya (30), Dakalo Mabaya (21) and Ephraim Muleya (19), were arrested after they allegedly torched the hut in which a granny and her grandson were sleeping at Makuya Domboni last month.

Sundani Munyai (70) and her grandson Thatheni (12) were burnt beyond recognition and their remains were placed in one coffin when they were buried at Makuya graveyard a week after the incident. Sundani’s other four grandchildren, who were sleeping in another thatched mud hut, were lucky to survive the attack, because the fire did not spread to their hut.

Thatheni was a Grade 6 learner at the local Kariel Ngigideni Primary School and his grandmother was a respected member of the local Zion Christian Church (ZCC).

The suspects have been charged with two counts of murder and one of arson. Shortly before the court proceedings, demonstrators handed a memorandum to court officials pleading with them not to give bail to the suspects. The demonstrators sighed with relief because their request was taken into consideration, as the bail application was postponed to November 1, so that the suspects may have enough time to consult with their lawyers. They will stay in custody.

Bad blood between the two families arose when an old man, who is a close relative of the suspects, died last year. Family members of the deceased old man allegedly accused the late granny that she was the one who had bewitched him. They vowed to avenge the old man’s death, and this allegedly led to the cruel death of the granny and her grandson.

One of the organizers of the demonstration, Paul Munyai, said community members are presently satisfied by the decision of the court not to give bail to the suspects. “We are happy that they are presently in police custody and they need to prove their innocence in a court of law. If found guilty, they must spend long terms in prison but we will only wait for the law to take its course because we are law-abiding citizens who do not believe in taking the law into our own hands.”

Meanwhile, Thovhele Ntsweteni Makuya gave a strong warning to his subjects to refrain from calling other people witches. “We must all say no to this mentality of witchcraft because it is destroying our communities. It is wrong to point out someone as a witch because that is where enmity starts. This is the first incident of its kind in Makuya and I believe we will work together to make sure that it never happens again.”

Insp Mashudu Madida of the Makuya SAPS commended the demonstrators for displaying restraint and dedication during the march. “The marchers behaved very well and no single incident of misbehaviour was reported. They were very cooperative and we hope that our cooperation will grow from strength to strength in future.”