A young man’s left ear was sliced off during what he calls a failed attempted ritual murder attack at Muledane Block J, near Thohoyandou, last week.

Khathutshelo Lalamani (25) says his attackers were about to slice off his private parts when he miraculously escaped. He had to receive treatment at Tshilidzini Hospital.

The matter was reported to the police and as a result, two suspects, Julius Dzivhani and Lutendo Dzivhani, were busted. They appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s court on Friday, charged with attempted murder. They were remanded in custody for police to conduct further investigations and their case will be heard again on May 10.

The victim, Khathutshelo, says he had only heard about people murdered for muti purposes, but he never thought it would happen to him. He explains what happened during the fateful day. "I was walking alone at Shayandima at about 21:00 on Friday night. A white bakkie approached me from the opposite direction and I went out of the road to give way. The bakkie followed me and hit me on the back. I then fell into the ground. Four men emerged from the bakkie and forced me inside."

He said the men sat on top of him and placed a cloth in his mouth to stop him from screaming. "They then drove me into the thick bushes and dragged me mercilessly to a secluded spot. I requested them not to harm me, but they continued dragging me. One of them hit me with an iron bar on the head and I fell to the ground. While I was on the ground, another one stepped on my head. I recognized one of them and asked him not to kill me, but he said my request would be in vain, because they were probably going to kill me by slicing off my body parts, while I was alive."

Khathutshelo says his attackers started arguing about which parts to start slicing off his body. "The one said they should start with the private parts, because they sell well, and another said they had to start with the ear. They then held me on the ground and cut off my ear with a sharp knife. It was so painful that I cried loudly while blood oozed like water, but they told me that I was just crying, because more was still to come. "

He said they then tore off his t-shirt and started cutting his trousers with a knife so that they could access his private parts. "I don’t know how I managed to free myself, but I just found myself hitting one of them with a heavy blow and he fell down. The others tried to grab me but I ran away as fast as I could. However, they followed me. I continued running at a high speed and went straight home. My family then reported the matter to the police and the two suspects were arrested."

Family friend Morgan Makancheleli says they went to the bush to look for the missing ear but they could not find it. "The whereabouts of the ear is still a mystery but we are happy that Khathutshelo is still alive. This is a ritual murder attempt, but the Lord saved Khathutshelo. He is one of the few to survive a ritual murder attempt and we attribute his survival to the powers of the Lord. We are only waiting for the law to take its course."