Ntsiepe Masoetsa

WELKOM - Experts have described the gruesome murder of a Welkom man as a muthi-related killing than a Satanist act. The body of 24 year old Michael Van Eck was found at Welkom cemetery on Saturday morning. Several parts of his body were chopped off, and his head, right arm and left foot were missing.
Doctor Kobus Jonker, a former police detective and expert in occult killings said it looked more like a killing where body parts would be used as muthi. Jonker has been involved with the investigation of crime related to the occult since 1981. He has his own practice and is still consulting to the South African Police Services (SAPS). “If it is Satanist, then they would definitely leave something behind, they would not just bury the body – they would make marks there, their graffiti, that’s why I think that it may be someone who took those body parts to a sangoma”, said Jomker.
He said Satanists should have left behind the sign of a cross turned upside down or they would write down the 666 number. He said unless there is other evidence the murder looked like a muthi killing.
A sangoma from Welkom, Pieter van Zyl, said such killings give sangomas a bad name. He said that this type of killing involves witchcraft. “But the problem is how do you convince the deceased’s family that this is witchcraft”, said van Zyl.
He said he heard about incidents where people perform outrageous deeds in the name of sangoma or healers. “I am aware of these things they do happen, but like I say, you don’t use human body parts I am against it”, he said.
The police have appointed a task team to investigate the murder.