Four people linked to a bizarre case of cannibalism in central KwaZulu-Natal made a brief appearance in the Estcourt Magistrate’s Court on Monday facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The arrests followed the confession of a man who walked into the Estcourt police station at the weekend‚ declaring to officers that he was "tired of eating human flesh".
When officers questioned his outlandish statement‚ the man produced part of a human leg and human hand as proof.
The man led detectives to a house in Rensburgdrift where they were confronted with an odour of death and more human remains.
Three other people‚ one of whom is a traditional healer‚ were later detained.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that the four were remanded in custody.
“The four will appear again next week when they are expected to apply for bail‚” she said.
According to a legal academic who asked not to be named‚ cannibalism is not defined as a crime‚ however the accused could face charges of contravening the Human Tissue Act of 1983. This act restricts the possession of any human tissue or body part without a permit. The Act governs organ donations‚ post mortem examinations and other medical procedures.
In 2001‚ a man from the Nkonka Reserve on the KZN south coast was arrested for murdering a man with a homemade gun.
He was found eating parts of the man’s body when police swooped on his home.
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