Durban - The Traditional Healers’ Association of South Africa has condemned Desiree Murugan’s killer as having “evil blood running through his veins”.
Falakhe Khumalo received a life sentence last week for his role in the murder of Murugan last month, allegedly at the behest of a traditional healer who had promised Khumalo a large sum of money for the head.
Khumalo was one of six people alleged to have been involved in decapitating Murugan near the Shallcross stadium, Chatsworth, last month.
The president of the association, Sazi Mhlongo, this week said: “The act they committed was that of witchcraft and not traditional healing. There are a lot of fakes out there.
“We do not know where some of these healers come from, and who trained them to be healers... Some of these people lose their jobs and then the next day they decide to become traditional healers without having gone through the proper training.”
He said legitimate healers do not use body parts in any way and said the association was facing a huge problem with fake traditional healers.
“We are trying to get traditional healers to register with councillors and traditional leaders in their area.”
People planning to use the services of a traditional healer should check if the healer was registered with the association, Mhlongo said.
Khumalo had said traditional healers had been working with the Department of Health since 1994, and were governed by the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007.
KwaZulu-Natal Health head of department Dr Sibongile Zungu said it was difficult to monitor traditional healers and to take legal steps against fake healers because laws were still being developed.
Zungu said the department was still drafting laws that will guide traditional healers on how they go about their craft.
The president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, Ashwin Trikamjee, said: “It is totally unacceptable to engage in these practices.”
These sort of practices were criminal acts and should be punished as such, Trikamjee said.
Hindu priest at Shallcross temple Pundith Chandrajith Panday said the practice of black magic was widespread and it would be nearly impossible to stop it.
It was difficult for some people to pull out once they entered into agreements with healers, as they feared the healers would harm them, he said.
Khumalo, 18, had spent a year looking for an Indian, coloured or white woman’s head, allegedly for a healer who had promised him R2 million.
He was caught, with five other suspects, including the healer.
Khumalo claimed he had been given muti by the healer to prevent him from being seen or traced by police.
Daily News