- We're not ritual killers - Tinynaga
TINYANGA have taken exception to allegations that they are behind
the recent spate of ritual murders ahead of the national elections.
(....)
He was responding to recent developments in which people have been
killed and their bodies mutilated allegedly to be used in
abracadabra to enhance candidates to win the national election.
July 8, 2008
- Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini has issued a
warning to aspiring members of parliament against committing ritual
murders to win the vote. Speaking during the Ascension prayer
service held at Embangweni Royal Residence yesterday, the PM said it
was very disturbing that, already, there were reported incidents of
people disappearing under a cloud of controversy as the elections
dates draw closer.
He said His Majesty issued a similar warning.
May 5, 2008
- Ritual muderder at Hluthi
A 65-year-old man from Hluthi has been killed and some of his body
parts were missing, in what relatives say was a ritual killing by
someone aspiring to be a Member of Parliament.
May 5, 2008
- "Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland"
"Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland (...)," says Robert Dube,
a businessperson in the capital city, Mbabane.
(...)
"Ritual murder" has allegedly long been a dark and secret part of
politics in Swaziland, a conservative kingdom where traditions good
and bad, including some destructive superstitions, are a key part of
life.
(...)
Last week, the most disturbing case yet was reported in the Swazi
press, when the dismembered bodies of a two-year-old boy was found
at the edge of the family homestead. The toddler's own relatives are
implicated in the murder.
February 17, 2004
- Swazi ritual killing warning
King Mswati III has urged Swaziland's politicians not to engage
in ritual killings to boost their chances in October's elections.
The BBC's Tom Holloway in the capital, Mbabane, says that the number
of ritual murders increases at election time.
(...)
June 2, 2003
- Child murders on Swazi campaign
trail
Three children, whose mutilated bodies were found buried in
isolated areas of Swaziland, are believed to have been killed as
part of traditional rituals to bring luck to election candidates.
Elections, held every five years, are due early next year (...) With
less than nine months to go before the next poll, this trend is
already evident. Over the past four weeks, bodies of children with
several parts missing have been discovered by cattle herders.
The latest body to be discovered was that of a girl, believed to be
16 years old, missing (...) The way the body parts had been
sliced off was similar to two earlier discoveries. The first one,
(...) had some of the body parts missing (...)
All the limbs were missing from the body of a pre-school child,
discovered several days after he disappeared. (...) several
strategic wounds also suggested that blood had been drained from the
body.
During the last poll, several mutilated bodies of children,
apparently killed for ritual purposes, were found dumped in isolated
areas. The general belief was that these murders were either
committed by parliamentary aspirants or their agents.
(...)
Meanwhile further ritual murders are expected as the election
countdown starts in earnest.
August 26, 2002
- Swaziland Executes 8
A woman convicted of the ritual killing of a child was hanged in
Swaziland early today along with seven other convicted murderers,
the Justice Minister announced.
July 13, 1983
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Reason and Superstition in Swaziland by Leo Igwe
Recently I attended a human rights meeting in Swaziland.
(...)
No matter the religion or belief they may profess, no matter the level
of education they may attain, most Swazis believe in charms popularly
known as muti. The belief is so prevalent that Swaziland can rightly be
called the Land of Muti.
Muti is a magical potion prepared by local witchdoctors called
sangomas. Sangomas are believed to have supernatural powers which they
use to produce this substance.
In Swaziland, people attribute everything - good or bad - that happens
to muti. (...) Because of the high demand for muti in Swaziland, ritual
killing is common in the country.
Ritual murder especially of children is a common experience in
Swaziland. During the human rights meeting, there were several reported
cases of ritual murder and sacrifice. And many Swazis I spoke to said
they were expecting more ritual killings to occur as the country
prepares for elections in November. Politicians would be looking for
human body parts to prepare the muti which they believe would help them
win elections. In May, the media reported a very pathetic and horrifying
case of ritual sacrifice. (...)
August 25, 2008
Government bans national march against ritual killings
Richard Rooney, Associate Professor, Journalism and Mass
Communication, University of Swaziland, commenting the Swazi
government's decision to ban a march in protest against ritual murders
in the country (July 2008):
"In Swaziland, I suspect, the Prime Minister and his Government did
not want to bring attention to the ritual murders because they have no
solution for them. (...) I'll leave aside for now rumours sweeping
Swaziland that the real reason why the government is scared of the
publicity over ritual murders is that many of those in government were
themselves elected with a little 'help' from 'muti murders'..."
Visit Rooney's independent blog
Swazi Media Commentary. This blog contains information and
commentary about human rights in Swaziland.
"Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland" - and has
allegedly long been a secret part of politics in the country
"Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland," says Robert Dube in the
capital city, Mbabane.
Dube, a businesperson, says his views are shared by most of his
country's people.
(....)
"The victim is usually easily overpowered -- a child, or a widow -- and
killed usually by hired killers," says Vusie Masuku, spokesperson for
the Royal Swaziland Police Force. Body parts of the murder victims are
then "harvested". Taken are bits of flesh from under the armpits, a
finger and some internal organs. Legend says the most potent parts are
cut from a still-living person.
(...)
The Swaziland police report about six findings of mutilated bodies
annually. The number increased twofold in 1998, which was a year of
parliamentary elections, and were up slightly last year, which also saw
the most recent parliamentary elections. Some suspects were caught
and tried for a few of the killings that year, but none were involved in
the elections. This did not keep the Swazi press from linking the
upswing in "ritual murders" with electioneering.
"Ritual murder" has allegedly long been a dark and secret part of
politics in Swaziland (...)
(...)
Worries over ritual murders have taken on a new urgency in anticipation
of the trial of Swaziland's first mass murderer. David Simelane
confessed to police nearly three years ago that he kidnapped and killed
more than 60 women and children. The victims were buried in shallow
graves in the commercial timber forests of Malkerns, 50km south of
Mbabane. (...)
"The Swazi people want to know who is behind this," submitted Senator
Abednego Dlamini during parliamentary debates last year.
But little action has followed. No trial date has been set for Simelane,
and a conspiracy theory swirls around Simelane and this country's first
case of serial killings.
(...)
The suspicion has increased the public's desire to see a trial, and with
no trial forthcoming, has raised fears that a powerful cabal of
authorities is keeping Simelane out of view, lest he implicate others.
(...)
The reality of "ritual murder" in Swaziland has convinced people that
the 63 alleged victims of Simelane were killed for their body parts.
(...)
Last week, the most disturbing case yet was reported in the Swazi press,
when the dismembered bodies of a two-year-old boy was found at the edge
of the family homestead. The toddler's own relatives are implicated in
the murder.
February 17, 2004
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