News / Africa
'Body parts and blood make powerful muthi'
12 Mar 2013 at 04:45hrs | Views
A GROUP of striking workers at South Africa's Marikana mine allegedly used body parts and the blood of one of two security guards found hacked to death to make a "powerful muthi".
A sangoma had allegedly told them this would make them immune to bullets.
This was put to massacre survivor Mzoxolo Magidiwana before the Farlam Commission of Inquiry in Rustenburg, North West, yesterday.
Police counsel, Vuyani Ngalwana, said a police witness would testify that striking miners launched an attack on the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) offices on August 12 after performing a ritual the previous night which involved the burning of live sheep and mixing the ashes with muthi. The muthi was smeared on incisions on their ears.
Magidiwana has denied knowing anything about this. Asked by commission head Ian Farlam if he had cuts on his ears, he chuckled and said "no". Ngalwana argued that the miners believed nothing would stand in their way, particularly as they had overpowered mine security on their way to the NUM offices.
"The sangoma told the group that the human tissue and blood from the security guard would be mixed with muthi to make it much stronger - the effect would be [that] it would be impossible for police bullets to penetrate," Ngalwana said.
"That person is lying," Magidiwana said.
A sangoma had allegedly told them this would make them immune to bullets.
This was put to massacre survivor Mzoxolo Magidiwana before the Farlam Commission of Inquiry in Rustenburg, North West, yesterday.
Police counsel, Vuyani Ngalwana, said a police witness would testify that striking miners launched an attack on the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) offices on August 12 after performing a ritual the previous night which involved the burning of live sheep and mixing the ashes with muthi. The muthi was smeared on incisions on their ears.
Magidiwana has denied knowing anything about this. Asked by commission head Ian Farlam if he had cuts on his ears, he chuckled and said "no". Ngalwana argued that the miners believed nothing would stand in their way, particularly as they had overpowered mine security on their way to the NUM offices.
"The sangoma told the group that the human tissue and blood from the security guard would be mixed with muthi to make it much stronger - the effect would be [that] it would be impossible for police bullets to penetrate," Ngalwana said.
"That person is lying," Magidiwana said.
Source - sowetanlive
