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'Witchcraft victim' alive

WITCH-HUNT: Earlier this week the man holding a stick and his wife were accused by Mukumbani villagers of being responsible for the disappearance of another villager, who was found yesterday Photo: Suprise Mazibila
WITCH-HUNT: Earlier this week the man holding a stick and his wife were accused by Mukumbani villagers of being responsible for the disappearance of another villager, who was found yesterday Photo: Suprise Mazibila

THE 51-year-old woman who went missing from her village at Mukumbani, near Thohoyandou in Limpopo, was found alive at a nearby mountain yesterday morning.

Sowetan arrived at the scene where a thin Khangari Tshifaro, lay, surrounded by a mob of celebrating, yet angry, residents of the community.

The mob prevented journalists from taking photos or speaking to the family. Police were not there.

Thohoyandou police spokesman Major Mashudu Malelo confirmed that Tshifaro was found by her relatives not far from her home.

"She is in hospital. She was weak and we didn't have much time to interview her," Malelo said.

"Her family members asked that we let her be well first before we can question her as she is seemingly not in a good condition."

He said no case, apart from the missing person investigation launched by the police on August 16, has been opened.

"If ever we find out that she was abducted, we will then open a case," Malelo said.

Tshifaro's disappearance two weeks ago ignited anger in the village and sparked a witch-hunt that saw a 53-year-old man and his wife fleeing their home on Tuesday.

They were blamed for Tshifaro's disappearance.

The middle-aged couple spent Tuesday night at the Mukumbani chief's kraal for protection from an angry mob that accused them of practising witchcraft and committing ritual murders.

Malelo told Sowetan that the man accused of Tshifaro's disappearance opened a common assault case yesterday.

"He alleged that he was hit on the head with a stone and we are investigating the case."

Malelo dismissed allegations stemming from several community members, including the village chief, that the man's genitals were subjected to torture early on Tuesday during a mob-led interrogation that sought to establish Tshifaro's whereabouts.

It is still unclear how Tshifaro ended up missing and the community hopes her recovery at Donald Fraser Hospital will open a can of worms and possibly lead to arrests.

Mukumbani Civic Association secretary Sinyuwani Tshivhase told Sowetan that a woman collecting wood around the forested mountains of Mukumbani found Tshifaro when she heard her scream for help and water.

Village chief Muthupi Malusele, who had given refuge to the targeted couple in his royal kraal on Tuesday, could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print yesterday.

mazibilas@sowetan.co.za

 

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