Trainee sangoma admits to gruesome murder

Nkandla, KZN - The body of an eight-year-old boy, reported missing on Saturday, was discovered on Wednesday, in a shallow grave in Nkandla.

His throat had been slit and his limbs had been chopped off. His left hand was missing.

The family of Andiswa Nxumalo believe he could have been a victim of a muti killing.

On Wednesday, police arrested a 28-year-old suspect in the Esikhalenisebomvu area, in Nkandla.

The suspect was training to be a sangoma.

KZN police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said the suspect had confessed to the murder and pointed out where he had buried the boy.

Zwane said while there had been talk of a muti link, the motive was unknown.

According to Andiswa’s family, the man was their neighbour. Andiswa trusted him and considered him his uncle, they said.

So when the suspect asked the Grade one, Sibomvu Primary, pupil to accompany him to buy cigarettes, he went.

Andiswa’s grandfather, Zama Nxumalo, said his grandson, a strong staunch Kaizer Chiefs supporter, was last seen alive on Saturday morning.

Huddled in a small mud rondavel on Thursday night, the close-knit family described Andiswa’s horrific death as senseless and inhuman.

“For my grandchild to be killed in such a barbaric manner still feels like a nightmare,” Nxumalo said.

The elderly and gravely ill man had to identify Andiswa’s body. “His throat was slit and his left hand was missing. I couldn’t continue looking at his tiny body,” said Nxumalo, wiping away tears.

Andiswa’s mother, Nonhlanhla, sat in the corner of the rondavel and covered her face with a blanket as tears welled in her eyes.

Nonhlanhla stays in Durban and had last seen her son two months ago when she visited her village.

Andiswa’s aunt Phumzile Nxumalo said they lived a short distance away from the suspect’s home and had known him and his family for years.

There are also distant relatives. This, she said, is what made the incident even more painful for them.

“Andiswa had known the suspect all his life. He trusted him and even referred to him as his uncle.”

She said that on Saturday, Andiswa had gone with his friend, Lindo, to look for the family’s cattle.

When Andiswa had not returned home by 6pm, she became concerned.

She then asked Lindo where her nephew was.

“He told me that on their way back from fetching the cattle they had bumped into the suspect who asked Andiswa to go with him to buy a pack of cigarettes.”

When three more hours had passed, Phumzile said she tried calling the suspect on his cellphone, which rang continuously before it was switched off, she said.

The next day, Phumzile confronted the suspect. He told her that on their way back home, they had been accosted by a stick-wielding man.

“He said he ran away when the man went charging towards them. He said he called out to Andiswa but didn’t know what had happened to him.”

The suspect said it was the last time he had seen the boy.

Phumzile then went door-to-door asking her neighbours if they had seen Andiswa.

She said an inyanga (traditional herbalist) told her that the suspect had arrived at his house on Saturday evening with Andiswa.

The suspect had been training under the inyanga.

The inyanga claimed the suspect had asked him for something to sharpen his knife, bush knife, and axe.

“I asked the inyanga why he had not enquired why the suspect wanted to sharpen the weapons. He said he didn’t think much of it as he trusted the suspect.”

According to the inyanga, the suspect had stayed at his house with Andiswa until 3am the next day.

Phumzile said the inyanga said he had told the suspect to take the child back to his house.

Andiswa’s family meanwhile had launched an extensive search for the boy, combing all the surrounding areas.

But, he was not found.

On Monday, Phumzile went back to the suspect’s house.

She and the suspect’s aunt pleaded with him to tell them what had happened to the boy.

She said they cried and pleaded but the suspect kept to his story.

When the family alerted police, the suspect fled. But he was eventually arrested on Wednesday.

Phumzile said they could not look at the suspect.

“Even if we ask him why he did this we are sure he would feed us with more lies.

“I’ve known him for years. We were all one big family. For him to do this …”

The suspect’s aunt said he had been troublesome from a very young age.

“He didn’t know his father and his mother passed away when he was young. He dropped out of school and never worked a day in his life,” she said.

Despite his wayward ways, his aunt said she never thought he would one day be suspected of killing their relative and neighbour.

“I am shocked. If he did it, then he has shamed our name. He has taken away an innocent life,” she said. - Daily News