SA girls' 'satanic' killing

Johannesburg - Two schoolgirls who were on Wednesday found dead in Dobsonville, Soweto, after an alleged Satanism-related killings were inseparable.

Three black candles and razor blades were found next to the bodies of Thandeka Moganetsi, 14, and Chwayita Rathazayo, 15, in a field.

The girls were dressed in their school uniforms. They were found about a metre from each other, and their school bags lay next to their bodies.

Police said they had open wounds on their backs, and cuts on their hands and necks.

A page containing the details of one of the girls was found in one of her books. This enabled the first person who got to the scene to call the police and the girls' relatives.

A man hunting in the veld discovered the bodies. His dogs had led him to the gruesome discovery.

On Wednesday, the girls' friends from George Khoza Secondary School cried openly as they related what they believed was a Satanism-related double murder.

They told relatives of Chwayita that one of the girls was allegedly meant to join a satanic group. However, when one refused, they were allegedly sacrificed.

About seven girls broke down in tears on the road to Chwayita's home to relate the story to the family.

The friends claimed they last saw the two dead girls after school on Tuesday, walking away with a group of boys.

"They said they were off to the scrapyard," said one of the friends.

Chwayita's mother Philiswa said her daughter did not return home on Tuesday evening. The girl, a member of the provincial swimming team, also failed to attend practice on the day she disappeared.

Her swimming medals were propped against the wall in the sitting room on Wednesday.

Relatives began arriving at the house on Wednesday afternoon.

"I went to look for her around 7pm when she failed to come home. We received a call from a friend, but she didn't say anything. The background was noisy," said Chwayita's emotional mother, who said the friend's numbers were stored on Chwayita's grandmother's phone.

Speaking at the scene of the crime, Philiswa said her daughter and Thandeka were inseparable.

"My daughter wanted me to adopt Thandeka. When the social workers told them on Monday during a meeting that that was impossible, they were both angry. They said they would rather go to rent by themselves," she said.

Elizabeth Potsanyane, 77, said her granddaughter Thandeka's death shocked her.

"I can't believe it. Who could kill Thandeka in such a manner?"

She said she thought Thandeka had slept at a friend's home on Tuesday, as she often did.

"There were days she never came back home from school. She told me that she was busy with assignments or that she was helping friends with school work," said Potsanyane, adding that the girl's behaviour had changed.

"She was very naughty. She was stubborn and a disrespectful child at times.

"We fought a lot because she didn't like it when she was reprimanded," she said.

"When she passed to Grade 10 last year, I thought she would change and concentrate more on her books. One thing I liked about her was the fact that she knew when it was time for her books," the elderly woman said.

She added that she had had high hopes for the 14-year-old orphan.

Gauteng deputy police commissioner Tebello Mosikili said one of the girls had been stabbed in the abdomen.

The Occult Unit was called in to assist with the investigation. No arrests have been made.

* Satanism involves the worship of Satan and typically involves a travesty of Christian symbols and practices, such as placing a cross upside down. Satanists usually make a "blood pact" with the Devil and reject Jesus Christ.

According to occult expert and sociologist Dr Kobus Jonker, black candles, such as those found near the bodies of the two teenagers, are used for calling up demons and the powers of darkness. – Additional reporting by Lerato Mbangeni