THE arrest earlier this month of three men in Mzamba outside Bizana in connection with 18 shocking murders, mostly of women whose organs were removed, has placed the focus on a recurring incidence of what are commonly called “muti murders”.
Various cases have been reported in the Eastern Cape over the last few years and the trend continues. In the month of January 2008, there were suspected muti murder cases in Lusikisiki in Transkei and in Kwazakhele and Missionvale, in Port Elizabeth.
Muti murders, along with so-called “witch killings” which also occur from time to time throughout the province, both fall within a general category of what can be called “witchcraft-related crimes”.
Both can be linked to traditional African beliefs in witchcraft as they involve the use of supernatural forces for personal gain, usually at someone else’s expense.
In muti murders, a victim – usually a woman or child – is killed in order to harvest body parts for making muti.
