Durban - THE community of Mthwalume feels betrayed after two local men, who they trusted, were arrested in connection with the gruesome murders of five women in the area.
One of the suspects hung himself in his prison cell, just hours before he due to appear in court on Monday.
One of the men lives two doors away from one victim, and both men were introverts, the area’s community policing forum (CPF) said.
It is believed that the killings were for thwala (using body parts with the belief that you will become rich).
Nonhlanhla Ngongoma, aunt of one of the victims, Nosipho Gumede, said the family was shattered and still in shock after it was discovered that the suspects arrested on Friday were from the neighbourhood.
“One of the suspects is known to the family. We are separated by only one house from his home. We, including the community at large, used to hire him to deliver groceries or other household items for us. That is why it must have been easy for them to lure these children to their deaths because they are known to them. This is very traumatising and, at this stage, their families have not contacted us and we haven’t had a chance to question them now that they have been arrested. We wish for them to tell us why they did these terrible things to our children,” she said.
The other victims, whose bodies were found in the area, were sisters Akhona and Nosipho Gumede, and Nelisiwe Dube and Baja Duma.
The suspects, who will appear in the Mthuthwini Magistrate’s Court on Monday, were found in possession of a cellphone belonging to one of the women, according to the area CPF chairperson Lucky Bhuyeni.
Bhuyeni said yesterday the cellphone was still in use and the investigators managed to trace it.
“The man who was in possession of the device led investigators to the second suspect and they were arrested. They are expected to reveal more information to the police,” Bhuyeni said.
Among the recovered items were needles, candles and underwear believed to belong to the victims.
“These men, aged between 25 and 30, said the killings were muti-related, and that a sangoma was involved. We were all shocked to hear of their suspected involvement in the murders because they are from the same area and are known to the community. They don’t talk much. They are introverts and the gruesome manner in which they killed these women is absolutely not something you would associate with them. They are evil and we all believe they deserve to spend the rest of their lives in jail,” said Bhuyeni.
One suspect was employed at a local garage.
“We can’t reveal much information on this matter but it is likely that more arrests are imminent. The community is wondering if more women would not have been killed had the suspects not been arrested,” he said.
The bodies of the five women, aged 16 to 36, were found on a sugarcane farm and in a nearby bush, between April and August. Two were found last week.
The gruesome discoveries resulted in intervention at national level. The national head of Crime Intelligence and Detectives, along with the national head of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) joined forces with provincial investigators to look into the case.
On Saturday, during his visit to the area, national Police Commissioner Bheki Cele said the investigators assigned to probe the killings had covered much ground.
“I am satisfied that this team has already brought in two people of interest who they believe have a case to answer to,” he said.
Cele assured the community high-density visible patrols would be conducted in the area.
Daily News