Security beefed up ahead of ‘cannibals’ court date

With six men accused of eating human flesh due to appear in an Estcourt court on Thursday‚ police have beefed up security in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands town.

Initially five men - Nino Mbatha‚ 32‚ Lungisani Magubane‚ 30‚ Sithembiso Doctor Sithole‚ 31‚ Lindokuhle Masondo‚ 32‚ and Khayelihle Lamula‚ 32 - were arrested and appeared in court in Estcourt and nearby Loskop in August after they were found in possession of human flesh. But police have revealed that a sixth man has since been arrested and will be joining the quintet in the dock on Thursday.

“I can confirm that a sixth suspect was arrested about three weeks ago‚” said KwaZulu-Natal police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbhele.

The grisly story broke in August when Mbatha‚ a traditional healer‚ walked into the Estcourt Community Service Centre to report that he was in possession of human body parts and was tired of being forced to eat human flesh.

The incident opened a can of worms as Mbatha led police to his home in Estcourt‚ where more body parts were recovered.

The case was soon taken over by the SAPS Occult Crime Unit and charges of murder‚ conspiracy to commit murder and possession of human body parts were opened and the suspect was arrested followed by the arrest of his accomplices in a story that rattled the sleepy Midlands town.

Local mayor Jabu Mbhele told TimesLIVE on Wednesday that a march‚ organised by a group called the Men’s Sector‚ has been granted by the town leadership.

“Security has been beefed up and we expect hundreds of people to either attend the court case or protest outside court. The march will start from Princess Park and proceed to the magistrate court. We also warn people not to destroy property and that’s why we have police and marshals ready for that‚” said Mayor Mbhele.

SAPS spokeswoman Colonel Mbhele said investigations were conducted by police and an appeal was made to the community who have missing relatives to contact the local police in Estcourt.

“DNA tests were conducted on the families that came forward and the results came back this week. It was confirmed that the recovered body parts were that of Zanele Hlatshwayo‚ 25‚ and her family was immediately informed‚” said Mbhele.