'My Partner Was Killed For Ritual Purposes'
Pini Bothoko | Monday October 15, 2018 13:25
Despite having been laid to rest two weeks ago, mystery dogs the death of Moipolai in the settlement of Rraditau near Kopong, most of all Kanzumane who suspects the mother of his four children was not hit by a car as concluded by the police. Arriving at the tiny settlement, The Monitor team did not struggle to locate Moipolai’s family, as her death is still a topical issue. “Are you talking about the woman who was weeks ago found dead by the roadside?” asked a young man The Monitor team met. “Well that’s my cousin and her yard is the one behind this one.” Asked if the woman he was talking about was the one allegedly killed for ritual purposes, the lad replied, “Yes, we hear those rumours as well. Some people suspect she might have been killed not hit by a car”. He then directed this publication to the deceased’s yard.
Rumours circulating within Rraditau and Kopong village suggest Moipolai was murdered for ritual purposes and was allegedly buried with her private parts and tongue missing. Arriving at the deceased’s yard, The Monitor found Kanzumane sitting under a tree, loneliness written all over his face. Standing metres away, one could tell that Kanzumane was the man mourning the death of his partner who died under mysterious circumstances.
In a way that older women usually sit, the team found Kanzumane, a picture of acute grief, sitting legs spread on a mat usually made of woven plastic bags. After introductions, the mourning Kanzumane was quick to dismiss the allegations that a car hit Moipolai. He said on that fateful day, some people took his partner to a shebeen in nearby Kopong for ‘drinks’ and what really transpired thereafter is still a mystery.
“I want answers because my instincts tell me that she was killed. I suspect she might have been killed for ritual purposes and the people who did so covered up the deed with a story of being hit by a car,” he said with tears flooding his face.
“To date, the police have not located the car that might have hit her and no one witnessed the accident nor heard any noise when it occurred. The accident is said to have occurred around seven in the evening whilst people were still entertaining themselves at the shebeen, but shockingly no one witnessed the accident,” he narrated.
The Monitor has learnt that the deceased’s death was causing friction between the Moipolai family and Kanzumane with the former implicating the latter in her death. It is alleged that the conflict had resulted in some of the family members not turning up for the deceased’s burial, nor taking part in the funeral preparations.
Narrating the sad plight on how he spent his last hours with his partner, Kanzumane said the deceased left home at around 3pm after preparing him food to entertain herself at a shebeen. “Mosadi wame lefa ane a nwa bojalwa ene ese motho wa goya gope kgakala ka one a setse a godile. She always entertained herself here at the nearby shebeen. I was shocked to learn that she had gone to Kopong village to drink alcohol as it is claimed. Ah ngwanaka batho ba bolaile mosadi wame, marapo a gagwe a letheka ane a swaegile. She was not hit by a car, if so she would have sustained fractures not that,” he said shedding tears. Kanzumane was adamant that his partner was killed for ritual purposes or the person(s) who killed her had done something to her to get rid of evidence. He said the killer(s) were aware that if they can leave her she would reveal the secret.
“A detailed doctor’s report on what really killed her, is in the custody of the police, but sadly it has been two weeks and to date I have been waiting for it from them. They (police) have not even given me the summary of their investigations. I do not know what is going on. Something is not right here. How can an accident occur without any trace?
“I suspect she was killed elsewhere and later dumped here by the roadside because there were no skid marks ,not even glasses on the road showing that indeed an accident did occur,” he said. Moipolai was allegedly killed in a hit-and-run accident on September 15 and was buried eight days later, but to date Mogoditshane police have not yet located a suspect. Then, it was reported that a passerby saw the old woman on the road, but did not see her get hit by a car. Assistant Superintendent, Zachariah Tshenyego of the Mogoditshane police however said investigations into the matter were ongoing to establish what really transpired in an effort to locate the hit-and-run suspect. Asked about the ritual killing claims, Tshenyego dismissed the allegation saying they are not investigating any case of that sort.
“Sorry, we do not have a case in which someone was murdered and allegedly found with her body parts missing,” he said.