Durban - It is a story that reads like the script of a horror movie: a dream, or rather a nightmare, of blood-soaked bodies with reeking, scarred arms reaching out to be rescued.
These were the purported visions of a sangoma that have sparked an investigation into the mystery of “a hundred bodies” buried on a Dududu, South Coast, farm.
The sangoma, Bongekile Nonhlanhla “Mshanelo” Nkomo, broke her silence on Monday when she spoke to the province’s political leaders and the media of her “discovery” on the sidelines of the suspected burial site.
“It was March last year when I had a dream. In this dream, there were people I do not know and have never met. It was a sea of people; some of them had burnt arms, others with blood on their bodies. They spoke to me in the dream, saying: ‘Set us free as you have freed others.’ I responded asking where and who they were. They responded: ‘We are here.’ I was looking at them from above.
“They appeared as if they are reaching out but sinking,” and told her they were souls “wandering” and longing for peace.
“I saw what appears to be a dam but, on a closer look, I realised it was a room they are locked and tortured in – but I only realised this when I got here later,” she said.
“At the time I thought it was just a random vision. I thought there was nothing I could do about it because I did not know the place, nor did they say where the place was. I had no idea how to get to that place.”
Nkomo ignored the dreams until she started to get sick.
“I realised this was serious and so I contacted a few people. I went to (Premier Senzo) Mchunu’s office, but to no avail.
“I developed marks on my body and started to experience sharp pains. After a while my throat got blocked and I couldn’t speak or eat,” she said.
After being advised by her traditional healer colleagues on what steps to take, she contacted the provincial Department of Arts and Culture where staff listened to her.
Accompanied by a chaplain from the Pietermaritzburg prison, a friend and her student sangoma, Lili Mngoma, she confronted her fears, somehow finding her way to Glenroy Farm in Dududu.
The farm was known for using prison labour from the 1960s to the 1980s.
“When we got here I asked for access but was denied because I didn’t have permission. I was still weak as I was still experiencing the sharp pains, so I pleaded. I had to say I had a relative buried here and they eventually let me in. We made an arrangement to meet the farm manager later,” she said.
She was taken to a burial site, but she insisted it was not the one she had seen in her dreams. She was eventually led to the site she had seen in the dreams.
She said she was pleased with the progress made, but the matter would not be concluded “until I have done what they have requested me to do”.
Provincial Arts and Culture MEC Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha confirmed the story told by Nkomo.
She pleaded with the community not to be afraid but to come forward with any information, assuring them that no one would be arrested.
Mchunu, accompanied by an entourage of MECs, government and community leaders, addressed the community on Monday.
He said his office would compile a report and write a letter to President Jacob Zuma, who would give a directive.
The Mercury