Witchcraft and Crime in South Africa
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Witchcraft Mutilations
Family members of three people whose bodies were mutilated at a funeral parlor in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, were in shock over the crime.
On the day before her funeral, family members of Khanyisile Dladla (25) discovered that her eyes had been removed from her corpse. There were also cuts on other parts of the body. There were also two other mutilated bodies.
Police visited the home of a local “traditional header” (witchdoctor) but no body parts were found there.
Then, soon afterwards, a fourth corpse at the same mortuary was discovered to have been mutilated. The family of Busisiwe Khuswayo (44) found that her lower lip had been sliced off. “We were preparing to wipe the body before the funeral when we saw that her lip had been cut out. It was the most painful thing to see,” said her husband.
Then there was the recent case where a homeless man in the city of Pietermaritzburg discovered a puppy, a border collie, which had been buried alive with two spears inserted into its body in the form of a cross. The puppy was buried with a dead black chicken, a mirror, underwear, a sock, two blue and red candles, and headgear made from an animal skin. When the police were called, they also found three other heaps of soil, under which were buried three dead black chickens, candles, spears, underwear and mirrors. It looked like the internal organs had been removed from the chickens.
The puppy was the second dog to be pierced with spears and buried alive in the last nine months, in the same area. In addition, other animals have been found in the area from time to time, which died in gruesome ways, including cats which had been skinned.
According to a well-known “traditional healer”, Schoeman Xulu, “The perpetrators were trapping someone to death. Witches use black chickens and dogs and colourful candles to kill their targets. I feel sorry for whoever the practice was directed at.” (The Witness, August 1, 2008). He said this was viewed as the worst form of witchcraft.
Such practices as the mutilation of corpses or animals, even live ones, are common occurrences in South Africa; we have reported on this kind of thing before (Witchcraft, Bestiality, Cannibalism: Horrifying Abominations being Committed in South Africa, by Shaun Willcock. Bible Based Ministries, November 2005). Millions of black people still believe firmly in witchcraft, and there is a lucrative trade in human and animal body parts for muthi (magic potion) purposes. Today they frown on it being called “witchcraft”, or the practitioners being called “witchdoctors”; they prefer to speak of “traditional African religion” and of “traditional healers”. But it is witchcraft, plain and simple. It is an African version of witchcraft, to be sure, but it is in reality of the very same diabolical spirit that is behind the occult anywhere in the world. From time to time newspapers in the west report on Satanism being practiced by a small minority of people in western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where people are shocked and horrified when some young person (for example) goes out and kills other people as part of some satanic ritual, often heavily influenced by drugs and satanic rock music – and indeed such a case has just occurred in South Africa; but it is well known that although Satanism and witchcraft are growing in western countries, they attract only a very small percentage of the population. After all, for most people no matter how sinful they may be, there is very little to attract them to religious rituals where people carve up animals and remove body parts, invoke demons or mutilate and kill other people in gruesome ways. The difference between Africa and the rest of the world, however, is that these are practices which are part of the everyday religious life of literally millions of people. Witchcraft crimes are reported routinely in newspapers in Africa. They are so common that they hardly ever make the front page, and most people who live in Africa are so used to them that they hardly bat an eyelid.
It is difficult at times even to obtain the assistance of blacks when such cases are found. For example, when the puppy mentioned above was taken to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), some of the blacks on the staff at the SPCA, being very familiar with this kind of muthi practice, refused to touch the puppy and would not even come near it. They believe they themselves could be cursed if they do so.
South Africa is in this respect no different from the rest of the Dark Continent. It may be in many ways a modern state, but witchcraft, often mixed with some elements of a false “christianity”, still dominates and controls the lives of millions of blacks. No wonder Africa is in such a pitiful state, and no wonder South Africa, now that it is under a black government, is going backwards instead of forwards. How can any country progress when millions of its citizens are held in fear by witchcraft? Such religious practices will always hold a people or a country back, for their lives are governed by fear: fear of ancestral spirits, fear of demons, fear of curses and spells and witchdoctors. If the black staff at the SPCA would not even come near a puppy because it was part of a witchcraft ritual, what hope is there?
Of course, Satanism and witchcraft are very real. Satan is very real! Those who dabble in the occult are under the power of the prince of darkness. The fear of black Africans is a real fear, because the power behind their religion is a very real power.
This country needs the labours of faithful missionaries, and in truth only a mighty work of the Spirit of God can change the hearts of black South Africans. Tragically, they are misled by wolves in sheep’s clothing, sprouting the doctrine of Marxist “liberation theology”, or Charismatic lunacy, or liberal denial of the great truths of the Gospel. Sound preachers of the Gospel are very few and far between.
South Africa’s Shocking Crime Statistics
South Africa retains its reputation as the most dangerous country in the world outside of a war context. The crime statistics for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, were absolutely shocking – as they always are, year after year, in this crime-ridden and violent society (The Witness, July 1, 2008).
The crime most feared by all South Africans is that of house robberies, as most of the robbers are armed and very dangerous. In KwaZulu-Natal province (KZN), house robberies increased by a massive 30.5%. There were 3480 such robberies during this period. In Gauteng province there were 7314 home invasions, but this was 5.4% less than for the previous period.
In KZN, 1923 businesses were robbed – a 92.9% increase over the previous period. As for banks, 22 were robbed during this period compared to 11 in the previous period – a 100% increase. And although cash-in-transit heists were slightly down, there were still 101 such robberies during this period.
There were 3889 cars hijacked, an increase of 9.1% over the previous period.
It was very small comfort to learn that there were 13.4% fewer murders in KZN this year: for there were still 4713 murders in the province!
Countrywide, there were 18 487 murders. This is a murder rate of 38.6 per 100 000 of population, or 50.6 murders every single day! This is 38 times the murder rate in the United Kingdom, and nine times the rate in the United States.
In addition to the 18 487 murders, there were 18 795 attempted murders; 118 312 aggravated robberies; 14 201 carjackings; 14 481 home robberies; 9852 business robberies; 237 853 house burglaries; 62 995 business burglaries; and 88 226 vehicle thefts.
The State of the South African Police
On 6 June 2006, a woman and her boyfriend were stabbed by five youths, and the woman was gang-raped by four of them. But when a black police constable arrived at the scene, he indecently assaulted the woman! He was convicted, fined R10 000, and was set to face a police board of inquiry to determine his fitness to remain in the police force.
Then in August this year, a police officer in Pietermaritzburg allegedly groped a woman and demanded sexual favours from her, after she had gone to the police station to seek help for her dying baby! The baby was pronounced dead at the station, and then the officer allegedly continued to make demands as the mother held the body! The officer was charged with sexual assault.
This is the state of the once-mighty and disciplined South African Police! There are still many good men in the police force, trying their best to make a real difference in this crime-ridden society; but the incidence of all kinds of criminal behaviour within the police force has sky-rocketed, to the point where the general public do not trust the police, have no confidence in them, and would more often than not prefer not to even report a crime.
August 2008
Shaun Willcock is a minister of the Gospel and lives in South Africa. He runs Bible Based Ministries. For other news articles (which may be downloaded and printed), as well as details about his books, audio messages, pamphlets, etc., please visit the Bible Based Ministries website, or write to the address below. If you would like to be on Bible Based Ministries’ electronic mailing list, to receive all future articles, please send your details.
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