Muti man’s root diggings cause community flurry

MBAZWANA Community Policing Forum Chairperson Themba Zikhali has urged community members to report suspicious incidents to them, rather than forcing police officers to break the law.

This after a dispute between police officers and community members over the digging up of what was presumed to be shallow graves.

The incident occurred last Monday at Ezabeni Reserve, uMhlabuyalingana.

‘Senior elders from the Mbazwana community put pressure on police officers to dig up what was presumed to be shallow graves, even though the police insisted they could not do so without obtaining permission,’ said Zikhali.

‘The officers advised the community to open a case at the police station so they could officially react to that request.’

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Zikhali said there were three spots which appeared to be shallow graves.

‘These were spotted by elders who were dipping their livestock. The CPF only heard about it on Tuesday, which was when we intervened.

‘I personally went to SAPS to make arrangements to dig up those shallow graves to see what was buried there,’ he said.

Zikhali added that on Wednesday morning police were assisted by community members and started digging.

‘They dug three metres deep but could not find anything.While they were digging, I made some calls to see if I could get more information.’

Zikhali said he was shocked when he was told that the digging was done by a ‘muti man’ who was digging for roots used by traditional healers.

‘I can confirm that the roots of that tree grow deep down and a person would struggle to get to them.

‘As the CPF, we urge the community to inform us before harassing the police, as we are the legitimate and constitutional structure to work with the police,’ said Zikhali.

uMkhanyakude cluster spokesperson, Captain Jabulani Mdletshe, said the community needs to understand that the police need permission from a magistrate before digging up any shallow graves.

‘I have not heard about the incident, but I would like to urge the community to follow the proper channels before putting the blame on us,’ he said.

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