Healers slate muthi killings
"Traditional healers have got nothing to do with private parts"
ROARING TRADE: Sangomas in rural Venda make a killing selling Mpesu bark. Pic. Bruce Fraser. © Sowetan.- SEIZED: Powdered flesh of dead babies
- Muti killer gets life
- Sangoma 'orders pregnant woman to be cut open'
- KwaZulu-Natal premier condemns witch killings
- Boy abducted and mutilated in Gauteng
- Senior cop now 'strict' sangoma
- Traditional healer's home set alight
- Mutilated body of man found on hill
- Sister stabbed for body parts
- Ritual killings - Villagers want crack detective
- Girl (9) was mutilated while alive
- Inyanga held for possessing body parts
- Taximan 'steals' boy for muthi
- No bail in child muthi case
- House torched after witchcraft allegations
- Plato talks tough against vigilante attacks
TRADITIONAL healers in Limpopo have joined a call by religious, traditional and political leaders to denounce myths inspiring ritual murder killings in the province.
The healers have also made a call for the arrest of those among them who prescribe body parts as medicines.
The call came yesterday during a summit in Polokwane and organised by the South African Police Service following a spate of ritual murders in the province's rural areas.
In some instances, victims survived to recount their sordid tales .
Limpopo Traditional Healers Association leader Sylvester Hlathi said his organisation would work with other stakeholders to ensure that healers who prescribed human body parts as medicines were arrested and prosecuted.
Hlathi said bogus traditional healers were the one's fuelling brutal attacks and killings of people for body parts.
The backward practice associated with traditional healers as a means of cure or boosting business is still dominant in some parts of the country.
Limpopo has been dubbed been duped as the capital of ritual killings as people, children and survivors are robbed of their loved ones and breadwinners.
"Traditional healers have got nothing to do with private parts. What is happening we have got people who pretend to be traditional healers who prescribe body parts as muthi," said Hlathi
Criminology professor Cornelius Roelofse of the University of Limpopo said ritual killing for body parts, just like rhino horn poaching, had become part of organised crime.
"In essence, ritual killing is financially driven because financial transaction takes place in the process," said Roelofse.
He suggested there would be no quick fix solutions to the problem, rather a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach was needed to replace myth with reality.
Traditional leaders' organisations hailed the summit as an instrumental platform to eliminate and denounce the killings of humans for body parts.
Kgosi Seshego Sekororo of Contralesa and Khosi Vusani Netshimbupfe said police and the community, together with traditional healers, have got had a duty to educate society that human body parts don't did not heal or have have any super natural powers.
"The ongoing ritual killings are signs that people are still backward and holding to the old practices. This has put a test to our justice system. The justice system is not tight enough to deter the practice," said Netshimbupfe.
Failure to strengthen the law and regulations has been under the spotlight since a traditional healer was sentenced to 12 months in prison for possession of human body parts.
The court ruling was based on the 1983 Act on the possession of body parts and dealing with human tissue.
Provincial police commissioner General Simon Mpembe said ritual murder cases were a problem in the province.
Mpembe said silence by communities also jeopardised police investigations as villagers often kept quiet when they knew the suspects.
The summit took place with political leaders failing to implement resolutions taken during the 2006 ritual murder summit that revealed 46 unresolved ritual murder cases.
Among the resolutions was that there was a need to establish a specialised unit to handle cases that had left some survivors traumatised and with permanent knife marks on their bodies.
Most Popular
-
No Viewed Articles yet
Comments
Mosquer
Ka gore le di ngaka why le sa phekole la tseba gore who are the culpritsReport Abuse
Ann
those are bogus traditional healers who are just after moneyReport Abuse
AUDIO
MOLOI WA FISHIWA NOMA KANJANI.POLICE WILL DO NOTHING TO SOLVE THE MATTER BECAUSE GA BA PATROLE KO MAGAENG BOSEGO.WHITCH CRAFT WILL NEVER HAVE ENVIDENCE.Report Abuse
Tabza325is
"The ongoing ritual k1llings are signs that people are still backward and holding to the old practices"Then all people should leave their religions and spiritual practices as they are all based on old myths and are old practices also. Like it says in the article this is money m0tivated and has nothing to do with old practices as all forms of religions and spiritual practices are old practices, to say people are backward is insinuating that old people in ancient times were not intelligent and had useless spiritual practices.
Report Abuse
MommaC
These flippin 'traditional healers' have a whole council which is paid to do nothing. Why are they allowing their trade and tradition to be spat on like this?Report Abuse
Mosquer
You are demon possessed stru!!Report Abuse
Bumboklaat
@MommaCThese flippin 'traditional healers' have a whole council which is paid to do nothing. Why are they allowing their trade and tradition to be spat on like this?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I do believe in traditional healers and consult them occasionally, I agree that the council is not doing enough. My traditional doctor has a certificate from the Healers' council to show that she is not bogus. There should be some measures to curb these bogus doctors
Report Abuse
MommaC
BumboklaatI too am a firm believer in herbal remedies as our family has its own herb lore. The idea that someone can just start dispensing 'mootie' without even having anyone vouch for their ability is too scary for words. You can seriously harm someone if you don't know what you are doing.
The council has to stop sleeping whilst eating our contributions and start to do something about this
Report Abuse
Mosquer
Kgale ke le bona!!lolReport Abuse
Bumboklaat
@MommaCBumboklaat
I too am a firm believer in herbal remedies as our family has its own herb lore. The idea that someone can just start dispensing 'mootie' without even having anyone vouch for their ability is too scary for words. You can seriously harm someone if you don't know what you are doing.
The council has to stop sleeping whilst eating our contributions and start to do something
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I totaly agree, going to a traditional healer does not mean you are bewitched or you want to get rid of a tokoloshe. It's just alternate medicine.
@Mosquer
kgale o bona eng?
Report Abuse
Read all 30 comments