The brutal murder and dismemberment of seven-year-old Philasande Shange has prompted widespread outrage and shock on the KZN North Coast, Pretoria Rekord reports.
Last Thursday, Shange went missing near his home in Ntshawini, and on Sunday, search and rescue teams discovered a leg and his head.
Even though it has not been forensically confirmed, the body parts match the description of Shange.
SMS from an unknown number was sent to Shange’s family with the location of the remains, which increases the likelihood that they were discovered.
Sunday, the family allegedly received another SMS from the same source alleging that the remainder of the boy’s body had been sold to buyers in Mozambique.
Myeni adds, “it is believed that the body parts were sold as part of ukuthwala, which is a ritual sacrifice of a child used in the muthi trade to generate wealth.”
After a murder case was opened at KwaDukuza Police Station on Sunday, efforts to trace the number have been unsuccessful thus far.
The family had also received threats, according to Philasande’s mother’s cousin Sinenhlanhla Black MaShange.
“Among the text messages were others threatening our family to leave the area, as a group of neighbors are unhappy with the family, and this was done to teach us a lesson,” wrote MaShange on Facebook.
The family declined to comment.
Mayor of KwaDukuza Lindile Nhaca and KZN Minister of Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza condemned the murder.
“Such outrageous criminality is inexcusable, desperate, barbaric, and reckless. This heinous act against an innocent child is inexcusable and must be condemned with the contempt it merits and unequivocally, as it causes unwarranted unrest and instability in our communities,” said Nhaca, who visited the family on Monday.
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Khoza dispatched a team of social workers to provide psychosocial support to the family and neighborhood.
Six investigators have been assigned to the case.
