Durban - Police in KwaZulu-Natal have recovered the head of a 23-year-old man whose headless body was discovered earlier this week.
The headless body of a 23-year-old man who was reported missing last month was found in a forest in Isonti in KwaZulu-Natal and on Thursday night, police from the Umzinto detective unit and forensic experts recovered the head in a gumtree plantation in Ellingham, adjacent to the N2 freeway in Park Rynie
Nawaaz Khan was reported missing on October 31 and it was only after being interviewed by detectives over the weekend that a close friend - reportedly the last person Khan was seen alive with - broke down and led police to a forest where the victim’s headless body was found lying in bushes.
According to police, it is alleged that Khan’s friend had consulted a traditional healer who had requested a human head so that he could help resolve his problems.
It is alleged that the traditional healer and the friend allegedly lured Khan to the forest, where he was attacked with a bush knife and beheaded.
The friend was arrested after making a confession and police launched a manhunt for the traditional healer, who was on the run.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said on Friday that on Tuesday at about 4:30pm, investigators were informed that the community of the Msholozi temporary housing settlement in Umzinto had surrounded a house that the wanted suspect had visited.
Naicker said: “A 31-year-old man was arrested and detained. Investigations led detectives to the scene where the head was recovered. The head, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, had been placed in several plastic shopping bags and buried in the ground.
“It has been removed to the Park Rynie State Mortuary where tissue samples would be obtained for forensic analysis to confirm that it is indeed that of the deceased Nawaaz Khan.”
The arrested suspect, who resides in Malangeni, was due to appear in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court soon.
Naicker had earlier said the 21-year-old friend had made a full confession to a commissioned police officer about the attack in which Khan’s two cellphones, clothing and takkies had also been taken.
Two more people, one from Msholozi Informal Settlement in Umzinto, and the other from Dumisa, were taken in for questioning on Sunday night after they were found in possession of the deceased’s cellphones, which police said were allegedly bought from the two suspects in Khan’s murder.
Police thanked the communities of Umzinto as well as the Community Policing Forum (CPF) for their support and assistance in apprehending the suspects and helping to solve the crime.
African News Agency