*Sefhare locals suspect ritual motives in woman’s murder
*Deceased’s family back police’s ‘passion killing’ call
With tensions in the village dangerously high, the family of a slain Sefhare woman has called for calm, confirming their daughter was not killed for ritual purposes as was first suspected.
28-year-old Leabaneng Mbaiwa’s lifeless body was found on Saturday morning, discarded at the top of one of the many hills that surround the village. She was seen alive just hours earlier, leaving the family home in the presence of her boyfriend, Kemo Fana Tlhaelo, 35.
Tlhaelo hung himself at the lands the next day.
Whispers that the mother-of-two was discovered with body parts missing quickly spread through the village, turning to shouts of anger as a mob gathered and demanded justice.
Taking the law into their own hands, villagers focused their fury on four unfortunate church goers, beating a ‘confession’ out of the terrified men (see ‘Caught in the eye of the Storm’).
Rescuing the ‘suspects’ from the clutches of the mob, the police soon concluded they had nothing to do with Mbaiwa’s murder.
The men were released on Monday, prompting outrage in the village.
Attempting to restore peace, a kgotla meeting was organised for early the next day.
In front of hundreds of charged-up locals, Machaneng Station Commander, Gagopale Gaselarona stressed there was no ritual element to the young woman’s death.
“I confirm to you that the deceased’s body does not have any missing parts. We even took the parents to the mortuary to see for themselves and they can confirm that,” pleaded Superintendent Gaselarona.
The top cop’s words fell on deaf ears.
Convinced the police were hiding something, angry villagers abandoned the kgotla, descending on the home of one of the ‘suspects’.
Smashing windows and ransacking the house in search of evidence, flinging meat and utensils into the yard, the rioters set fire to the building.
They also blocked the roads with drums and stones, their blood-thirst only quelled by the sight of several armed police officers arriving on the scene.
Taking a break from their mourning, a representative of the deceased’s family, Mponeng Obopile, 67, said she was stunned at the village’s reaction to her loved one’s death.
“We are shocked to hear this news. We wonder where people get this information from. Us as a family checked on our daughter and her body is just fine. We are really surprised and it is not good at all,” said Obopile, adding they suspect she was probably killed by her boyfriend.
Similarly, Mbaiwa’s aunt, Kgantsho Mbaiwa, 72, said their daughter was in one piece.
“Her parts were not harvested as people say. We are shocked to hear that she was harvested, something which us in the family does not know. We plead with Facebook users who spread lies about our daughter’s death to give us a break to bury her in peace,” requested the old woman.
Meanwhile, police sources told The Voice Mbaiwa was found lying face down in a rocky part of the bush, a tsabana bag, which she was to fill with soil from the hill, lying beside her. They suspect someone struck her on the head with a stone.
Despite both the family and the cop’s denials, villagers remain skeptical.
“These people are hiding the truth. We saw the parts in a plastic and the killers confessed and even showed us the weapons they used to butcher the deceased. We need nothing but the truth,” said one member of the mob, adding a ritual killing had recently gone unpunished in the village and they were not about to let history repeat itself.
Although he will never be able to give his side of the story, The Voice made the short journey from Sefhare to Tlhaelo’s home village of Majwaneng to speak to his relatives.
They were also adamant there was nothing ritual about Mbaiwa’s end.
“Do not write my names. He came on Saturday, gave his sister his ATM cards and pin numbers. Then he left for the fields. We did not suspect anything because he always goes to the field. He hung himself from a tree where he was found by someone passing.
“That he killed her for rituals is not true. We knew he was in love with Leabaneng as she used to visit here often. Our son leaves behind one child [not with Mbaiwa] and he was a traditional doctor,” said the grieving family member.
