Soweto schoolboys snatched from swings, believed to be victims of muti killings

The two young Soweto schoolboys who were mutilated and murdered in South Africa last week are believed to have been victims of muti killings, where their body parts were “stolen to order” for ‘witch doctors’ or ‘sangomas’ to provide potions for their clients. The tragic incident has made world headlines.

The five- and six-year-old, together with a third friend, were kidnapped in Soweto on Wednesday as they played in a park. The third friend managed to escape, whilst the other two reportedly suffered unimaginable horror – having their body parts possibly removed whilst they were still alive, which is the traditional method for ‘muti’ killings.

Nqobile Zulu, 5, and his friend Tshiamo Rabanye, 6, were found stabbed and with their throats slit and genitals, noses and lips missing.

South Africa’s leading forensic psychologist Dr Gerard Labuschagne confirmed the removal of genitals is the hallmark of muti killings and that it is normally before death.

Little Rabanye’s body was found at 4.30am on Thursday morning by a horrified search party, and his friend Zulu’s body was found nearby at 7am.

The crime has shocked South Africa where muti killings are known to occur. ‘Muti’ is the Zulu word for medicine (and still used by many South Africans to refer to pharmaceutical medicine as well).

One boy was discovered in White City whilst the other was found later in Rockville in the Soweto township area of Gauteng Province, just outside Johannesburg.

The father of the 5-year-old boy who miraculously escaped said all three were snatched, as they played on swings in a park, by two men in a blue car – one overweight and the other underweight.

The traumatised boy is the sole surviving witness of the double murder.

His dad said:

”When he ran in to his mum he was gesturing and saying his friends had their throats slit but she did not believe him till they were reported missing.

“I have no idea how my son managed to escape but the way he explained, he saw the men who took them and that they chased after him with a knife.

“He tried to escape and ran, and we don’t know how he survived because he is still a young boy but somehow he did and he was able to save himself.”

The three boys had been playing on swings in Thokoza Park in Rockville.

What are muti killings?

The background to muti killings was explained last year after five people were arrested for abducting and mutilating Bontle Mashiyane, 6, in Mpumalanga province.

The schoolgirl had been seized in Mganduzweni near White River on April 30, 2022, and her decomposing body was found to have had many body parts cut from her.

Most sangomas or traditional healers – often known as witch doctors – are law abiding and abhor muti killings, but confirm that amongst them there are those who are “evil”.

After the recovery of tragic Bontle’s body, provisional police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala told City Express how muti killings were carried out:

“The majority of perpetrators confirm they harvest the body organs while the victim is still alive and these operations involve more than one person.

“However the sangoma is the key person in all of this.

“Muti killings are incredibly gruesome as victims are dismembered while alive and sangomas order genitals, fingers, hands, kneecaps, tongues and eyes.

“The common trait among the killers was that they held a strong belief in the power of muti made from human organs and that they are not very well educated.

“The chain is a client, then the sangoma, and then their harvester who is the murderer, then the victim and the killers are paid according to parts they get.”

Community demands swift justice for muti killings

The community where little Nqobile and Tshiamo were so horrifically murdered and mutilated is demanding swift justice from the police to find the killers.

Zulu’s mother Nomthandazo and grandmother Mapiti Tshabalala asked to see the body before it was taken away. His mother collapsed and grandmother fainted.

Zulu lived with his gran Mapiti and Rabanye lived with his gran Nqobile Ndlovu, and both went to Isiseko Primary School in White City and were close friends.

Forensic psychologist Dr Gerard Labuschagne, the former head of the SA Police Service Psychology Unit, has written extensively on muti murders in South Africa.

He has carried out over 30 muti investigations and said three links are usually involved – the client, the traditional healer or sangoma and the murderer or murderers.

He confirmed the removal of the genitals is the trademark trait in all such killings.

Dr Labuschange wrote: ”It would not be the client himself who suggests the use of human body parts but the traditional healer who decided what ingredients are needed.”

He said depending on whether the client wanted for example an improved sex life, luck for gambling or to improve business, the sangoma would choose the body parts needed.

Dr Labuschange continued:

”The client is not involved in the murder and only approaches the healer to explains his needs and provide the money.

“He would then collect the muti when it is prepared.

“Traditionally the victim must be alive when the body parts are removed as this increases the power of the muti because the body parts are believed to retain the person’s life essence.

“Muti murders always relate to an illegal act and may be defined as the unlawful intentional killing of a person to gather human body parts.

“Experience indicates genitals are removed most frequently but it can be any body part including blood, hands, eyes, the head and the tongue”.

The two boys had their genitals, lips and noses cut from their bodies.

He added that most traditional healers did not condone muti murders and associated them with “charlatans and evil healers known as witches”.

A sangoma, who refused to be named for fear or reprisals, said: “Graves are robbed for body parts and they work fine but the muti is not (believed to be) as good as if from a live person.”

She said some of the mistaken beliefs include that “children and albinos give the best muti and it is more powerful if taken when alive.”

She added that “body parts can be obtained through the back door from hospitals as well.”

It is thought that between 60 and 85% of South Africans believe in witchcraft and ‘black magic’ and in the “miraculous” medicinal effects of muti to cure them or improve their lives.

The African Traditional Medicine Programme in Gauteng Province, where the township of Soweto is based, condemned the horrific murders immediately.

A spokesperson said:

”We are traditional health practitioners and not killers, but we are fully aware of people doing criminal acts in the name of our sector.

“But we wish to categorically state that we are distancing ourselves from such individuals and acts and that we are doing all we can to help the authorities.”

The South African Police refused to comment officially on whether they believe it to be a double muti murder but local media quote polices sources confirming it.

Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has mobilised crack teams to track down the perpetrators, and promised families swift and quick justice.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi visited the grieving families and said: ”What has happened is beyond barbaric and must not be tolerated – it is just sickening.

“The perpetrators must be hunted down and brought to justice for this sick crime”.

South African crime figures show in the six months from April to September 2022 that there were 558 child murders and 294 attempted child murders, but a small percentage were muti murders. Muti murders are not categorised in official figures but crime experts estimate there are between 50 and 300 a year in South Africa, where those most targeted for mutilation are young children.

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