Satanism fears fuelled by bones find

The Mother Philiswa Rhathazwayo cries uncontrolably near the crime scene in Dobsonville after hearing about her daughter Two teenage girls were found dead in an open veld in Dobsonville, Soweto after an alledged satanism related ritual. Picture: Antoine de Ras, 19/02/2014

The Mother Philiswa Rhathazwayo cries uncontrolably near the crime scene in Dobsonville after hearing about her daughter Two teenage girls were found dead in an open veld in Dobsonville, Soweto after an alledged satanism related ritual. Picture: Antoine de Ras, 19/02/2014

Published Feb 20, 2014

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Johannesburg - Furious community members surrounded a house in Soweto on Thursday morning insisting human bones were buried inside.

This comes after two teenage girls were found murdered on Wednesday in what is believed to have been a satanic ritual.

Angry community members surrounded the property, screaming at police to tell them what they had discovered during a search, but police discovered only animal bones.

Police had to bring in reinforcements to calm down the community members.

On Wednesday, Chwayita Rathazayo, 15, and her best friend Thandeka Moganetsi, 14, were found murdered in what appeared to be a satanic ritual. The schoolgirls were found with black candles and razor blades next to their bodies in a Dobsonville field in Soweto.

On Wenesday, the girls’ friends from George Khosa Secondary School in Dobsonville wept as they spoke about the double-murder.

The friends told relatives of Chwayita that when one of the girls refused to join a satanic cult, they were both allegedly sacrificed.

The school friends claimed they last saw the two dead girls after school on Tuesday, walking away with a group of boys.

“They said they were off to the scrapyard,” said one of the friends.

Chwayita’s mother, Philiswa said her daughter did not return home on Tuesday evening.

Chwayita, a member of the provincial swimming team, also failed to attend practice on the day she disappeared.

Relatives began arriving at the house yesterday afternoon.

“I went to look for her around 7pm when she failed to come home. We received a call from a friend, but she didn’t say anything,” said Chwayita’s distraught mother.

Speaking at the scene of the crime, Philiswa said her daughter and Thandeka were inseparable.

“My daughter wanted me to adopt Thandeka. When the social workers told them on Monday during a meeting that it was impossible, they were both angry.

“They said they would rather go to rent by themselves,” she said.

Elizabeth Potsanyane, 77, said her granddaughter Thandeka’s death shocked her.

“I can’t believe it. Who could kill Thandeka in such a manner?”

She said she thought Thandeka had slept at a friend’s home on Tuesday, as she often did.

“There were days she never came back home from school. She told me that she was busy with assignments or that she was helping friends with school work,” said Potsanyane, adding the girl’s behaviour had changed.

“She was very naughty. She was stubborn and a disrespectful child at times. We fought a lot because she didn’t like it when she was reprimanded,” she said.

“When she passed to Grade 10 last year, I thought she would change and concentrate more on her books. One thing I liked about her was the fact that she knew when it was time for her books,” she said.

She said she had high hopes for the 14-year-old orphan. The girls were dressed in their school uniforms. They were found about 1m from each other, and their school bags lay next to their bodies.

Police said they had open wounds on their backs, and cuts on their hands and necks. A page containing the details of one of the girls was found in one of her books. This enabled the first person who got to the scene to call the police and the girls’ relatives.

A man hunting in the veld discovered the bodies. His dogs led him to the gruesome discovery.

Gauteng deputy police commissioner Tebello Mosikili said one of the girls had been stabbed in the abdomen.

The Occult Unit was called in to assist with the investigation. No arrests have been made.

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The Star

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