A ritual murder case that was thrown out of court some years ago, due to alleged police negligence, might once again see itself back in court. New evidence has surfaced, implicating high-profile people in the community in the incident.

In 2004, Mashudu Rambauli (24) of Mavunde outside Thohoyandou was preparing to register for his tertiary education, when he mysteriously disappeared from his home and was later found murdered not far from the village, with some of his body parts missing.

His sad mother, Johanna Rambauli, said her beloved boy left home on a Monday afternoon, saying he was going for soccer practice. “That was the last we saw him alive as he did not come back that day. We became anxious when two days passed without seeing him as we had thought he could have gone to friends,” she said. She said she decided to send her sister to look for him at his grandparents´ home at HaMukununde, but she returned home after meeting his friend at Makuya, who assured her that he had met Mashudu and that he had told the friend he would be home on Saturday for the game.

Today, people suspect that the friend knew what had happened to him and was covering up for the killing. Mashudu’s body was found in nearby bushes on the Saturday he was supposed to be playing a soccer match.

“We were relaxing not far from the scene when we saw many people gathered at the scene with police officials. I ordered my daughter to go and find out as to what was happening, but she was taking too long and we decided to follow her and see for ourselves. Before we could reach the place, my daughter came running and told us it was Mashudu after she identified him by his clothing,” said the sad mother.

They were extremely shocked to find that some of his body parts were missing. “We were very anguished as a family, but we thought police would make a breakthrough in the case as names of suspects were circulating in the community in no time. However, we were disappointed that it dragged on without anybody being arrested,” she said.

She said to add insult to injury, some people would just come to her, telling her to her face that they had sold her son. “I would quickly run to the police and give them names, but they failed to apprehend the suspects. I kept on visiting the local police, asking them about the progress of the case, but they told me that there was nothing they could do, as there was no witness or evidence in the case. This was surprising, as police had names that were doing the rounds, but were just reluctant to arrest the suspects as they are ´big´ people who have influence in the community,” she said. The case was then closed.

Rambauli said that from that day she hated police like the plague. “They failed me and the community by not arresting the suspects. I buried my son with his parts missing. I had thought that the police would do their job and arrest the perpetrators, so that they could be brought to book and answer for their heinous deeds, but that was not to be,“ she said.

She is now hopeful that closure to the matter is immanent, after new evidence surfaced and people who were involved are prepared to stand up and testify. “I am just worried that the police seem to be dragging their feet again as they have to be pushed to do their work. The first docket was alleged to have disappeared but was later found. Even now that a new case has been opened, they are still reluctant to arrest the suspects,“ said Rambauli.

She said it had become clear that the country’s laws were selective, as those who were powerful and had money would never be arrested while the poor would be made to suffer violations. She said she had God to thank that He intervened, so that new evidence came to the fore and that the case is now being dealt with at a higher level.

Makuya police spokesperson Warrant Officer Mashudu Madida confirmed that the case has been reopened, following new evidence that came to their attention. “It is not true that we failed the family as we did all in our power to investigate the case. The evidence that was submitted to us before could not stand in court and it was turned into an inquest. Now that new evidence has come to the fore, we will do as instructed,“ he said.

He said the family should feel free to contact the police in order to find out about the progress of the case.