A traditional header popularly known as sangoma in South Africa, who was accused of being the mastermind behind the mutilation and death of a six-year-old girl, has been killed by a mob in Mpumalanga.
Samuel Tsela, a sangoma whose abduction, rape and murder charges were provisionally withdrawn in August due to a lack of evidence, was removed from his rented house at Mataffin in Mbombela, on Saturday evening. The mob allegedly beat and set his body ablaze right within the community.
After his original home in Mganduzweni was burnt at the time of his arrest, the Sangoma was said to have rented another place in Mataffin, where residents recognised him and warned him to vacate the premises.
“Police received a report about a mob justice incident. Preliminary investigation revealed the male was attacked by a group of people and they ran away when they saw the police. The male was identified as Mangebeletane Samuel Tsela. A case of murder has been opened and no arrests have been made yet,” police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said on Sunday.
Little Bontle went missing in April 2022 while playing with friends in her compound. A man had been seen speaking to her. Her mutilated body was later found 21 days later in bushes not far from her home in Maganduzweni near Hazyview. Tsela was one of five suspects arrested in connection with her murder.
