"Ritual murder is an abominable, cruel and violent act which all of us must not only condemn, but we must actively work towards its total eradication. Just because it has been around this long does not justify its continued practice. The fact that it continues to ravage our communities, particularly in the Vhembe District, is an indictment on all of us for failing to combat this very serious social crime."

These were the words of Premier Sello Moloto when he officially opened the two-day Limpopo Conference on Ritual Killings and Femicides at the Vhembe District Municipality Council Chambers in Thohoyandou last Thursday. "Together with the Commission on Gender Equality, we thought it was necessary to convene this gathering of all stakeholders to reflect not only on the on-going ritual murders, but also on how all of us respond effectively to this menace engulfing our communities and imposing fear and anxiety on our rural communities in particular. This we did because of our commitment to fight any form of crime and also due to the continued outcry from affected communities about the increase in the number of victims, while nobody is being arrested and successfully prosecuted," he said.

Moloto said the escalating ritual murder scourge has forced the government to appoint a provincial police task team to review all ritually motivated reported case dockets and to see if certain cases cannot be reopened and offenders retried. "We released the report of the police investigation team last month, which gave us some ideas on how to extricate this demon from our society, once and for all. Part of the major findings of that report, apart from recommending the holding of this conference today, is that there is a need for establishing a specialized police investigating unit into occult-related crimes and the upscaling of public awareness and sustainable education drive. The other notable observation from the report is that most community members are reluctant to give evidence in courts of law against perpetrators because of fear. Due to this pervasive fear and secrecy surrounding the practice, which protects these killers, 47 cases were re-opened by the police and four were found to be ritually inspired."

The Premier added that he believed that the conference would serve its purpose of finding solutions to ritual murder problems. Other speakers who presented papers include Dr Mathole Motshekga of the Kara Heritage Foundation, who spoke about Culture, Tradition and Religion in relation to ritual murder. Well-known historian Prof Victor Ralushai spoke on cultural and traditional practices and how they influence ritual murders. Adv Bethuel Manyuha from the National Prosecuting Authority presented a paper on the challenges in the criminal justice system in dealing with ritual murders.

The summit was preceded by a rally at Phalama sports ground on Saturday, where representatives from various stakeholders expressed their views against ritual murder.