News / Regional
Man killed, body parts sliced off, corpse found with missing eyes, ears
14 Mar 2012 at 00:57hrs | Views
A 61-year-old Esigodini man was killed by three men, who went on to slice off some of his body parts and dumped him in a mountain in what is suspected to be a ritual murder, police said yesterday.
The acting provincial police spokesperson for Matabeleland South, Sergeant Loveness Mangena, said the incident occurred last Wednesday at about 7pm at Nqama Village in Umzingwane District.
The corpse was found at Ndlome Mountains with missing ears and eyes and the suspects also skinned the head.
Sgt Mangena identified the deceased as Kara Sibanda of Nqama Village.
"Our preliminary investigations indicate that on the fateful day, the suspects, Mkhokheli Ncube (30), Mhlanguli Ncube (33) and Jabulani Ndlovu whose age is not known went to Sibanda's homestead looking for his son and they were carrying a bottle of brandy.
"On arrival they found Sibanda and his wife and the person they were looking for was not there. They, however, waited for the son to return home," she said.
Sgt Mangena said while waiting for the son to arrive, the trio started drinking beer with Sibanda.
"They then enticed Sibanda to join them to a local business centre on the understanding that they would buy him more beer and he agreed. Along the way after having travelled for about a kilometre, the suspects pulled out their knives and fatally stabbed Sibanda all over the body after which they shaved his head before skinning it. They also removed his ears and eyes and we suspect it could be for ritual purposes, but we are still investigating," said Sgt Mangena.
Soon after committing the offence, the three men dragged the lifeless body to a nearby mountain where they dumped it and fled from the scene.
"The offence came to light when Sibanda did not return home prompting his wife to become suspicious and she then alerted other villagers. The body was discovered two days later by a local villager who was looking for firewood in the bush and the matter was reported to us," said Sgt Mangena.
The body was taken to Esigodini District Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.
Sgt Mangena said the suspects were still at large.
"The suspects are still at large and we are appealing to members of the public to assist us with information that could lead to the arrest of the three men," she said.
The acting provincial police spokesperson for Matabeleland South, Sergeant Loveness Mangena, said the incident occurred last Wednesday at about 7pm at Nqama Village in Umzingwane District.
The corpse was found at Ndlome Mountains with missing ears and eyes and the suspects also skinned the head.
Sgt Mangena identified the deceased as Kara Sibanda of Nqama Village.
"Our preliminary investigations indicate that on the fateful day, the suspects, Mkhokheli Ncube (30), Mhlanguli Ncube (33) and Jabulani Ndlovu whose age is not known went to Sibanda's homestead looking for his son and they were carrying a bottle of brandy.
"On arrival they found Sibanda and his wife and the person they were looking for was not there. They, however, waited for the son to return home," she said.
"They then enticed Sibanda to join them to a local business centre on the understanding that they would buy him more beer and he agreed. Along the way after having travelled for about a kilometre, the suspects pulled out their knives and fatally stabbed Sibanda all over the body after which they shaved his head before skinning it. They also removed his ears and eyes and we suspect it could be for ritual purposes, but we are still investigating," said Sgt Mangena.
Soon after committing the offence, the three men dragged the lifeless body to a nearby mountain where they dumped it and fled from the scene.
"The offence came to light when Sibanda did not return home prompting his wife to become suspicious and she then alerted other villagers. The body was discovered two days later by a local villager who was looking for firewood in the bush and the matter was reported to us," said Sgt Mangena.
The body was taken to Esigodini District Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.
Sgt Mangena said the suspects were still at large.
"The suspects are still at large and we are appealing to members of the public to assist us with information that could lead to the arrest of the three men," she said.
Source - TC
