Two held for Cape 'muti' killing

Cape Town, South Africa - Two men have been arrested for the murder and horrific mutilation, believed to be muti-related, of a 23-year-old Philippi man whose body was found in an open field on Saturday.

Police spokesperson Randall Stoffels said on Tuesday that the horribly mutilated body of Siyabonga Shasha was found near Bristol Road, Nyanga, early on Saturday morning.

The heart, genitals and throat had been removed from Shasha's body.

Stoffels said police had arrested two men, aged 19 and 25. They have been charged with murder. No court date was announced.

The gruesome killing was a shock to Shasha's family. The young man's parents had only just buried one of their younger sons.

Shasha's elder brother, Sivuyile, said on Monday that the six siblings had been reduced to four in the space of six weeks.

His second-youngest brother had been shot dead in gang-related violence in June, said Sivuyile.

He spoke of how he had last seen Siyabonga playing pool in a Philippi shebeen on Friday morning.

He said he had borrowed money from Siyabonga at the shebeen so he could buy himself breakfast.

"I heard on Saturday morning that he didn't sleep at home but I did not bother about it because I knew he could take care of himself," said Sivuyile.

He said friends had told him, later in the day, that his brother's body had been found near the park. He said the fact that some of his brother's body parts had been removed led him and the rest of the family to believe it was a muti killing.

"Whoever slaughtered my brother deserves harsh punishment," he said.

The chairman of the Eastern Cape branch of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), Nonkonyana Mwelo, said he did not believe human organs were being used by witch doctors for muti.

Mwelo said it was "shocking" that people were mutilated but did not see any use for body parts as muti.

"It is not true that witchdoctors are using private parts for umuti," he said.

"Police should thoroughly investigate why the private parts were taken. It is criminals and people with no mercy who are doing that."