The headless body of a 23-year-old man who was reported missing last month has been found in a forest in Isonti in KwaZulu-Natal, police said on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said Nawaaz Khan was reported missing on 31 October.
“All efforts to find him proved futile. It is alleged that he was last seen in the company of a close friend.”
Naicker said that over the weekend, while being interviewed by detectives, the friend broke down and led police to a forest where Khan’s headless body was found lying in the bushes.
“It is alleged that Khan’s friend had consulted a traditional healer who requested a human head so that he could help resolve his problems,” Naicker said.
The traditional healer and Khan’s friend allegedly lured Khan to the forest where he was attacked with a bush knife and beheaded, Naicker added.
“His cellphones, clothing and takkies were taken by his attackers. Neither the head nor the bush knife has been recovered as yet.”
The 21-year-old friend is in police custody and was expected to appear in the Umzinto Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
“He has made a full confession to a commissioned police officer yesterday,” Naicker said.
Naicker said a manhunt had been launched for the traditional healer who was on the run.
“He is known to the detectives who expect to take him into custody soon. They are hopeful that his arrest would lead to the victim’s head and the murder weapon being recovered.”
Two more people, one from Msholozi Informal Settlement in Umzinto and the other from Dumisa, were taken in for questioning on Sunday night after they were found in possession of the deceased’s cellphones, Naicker said. They allegedly each bought one of the two cellphones that had belonged to the deceased.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni said: “We strongly believe that the arrest of the alleged traditional healer is imminent. It is totally unacceptable that such cases are continuously being reported. We urge members of the community not to follow instructions of such merciless traditional healers but to rather report them to police.” – African News Agency (ANA)
