Conspiracy and mystery still shrouds Kgatleng “kidnappings”

In the midst of allegations of ritual killings in Mochudi, the issue seems to have divided morafe as some believe children are just fabricating stories to cover for their delinquency while others are adamant that there could be some truth in some of the cases.

While majority of the suspected ritual murderers who attended the kgotla meeting which was graced by very few people over the weekend came out publicly and distanced themselves from the allegations, some Bakgatla believe there could be some truth in one or two cases, especially those that were reported earlier.

 

A certain Mankge Mosuge who appeared very bold and calm, told the gathering that the issue of ritual murders was not new in their district, saying the village leaders have not bothered to do anything about it. He said that independent investigators should be appointed to carry out the investigations on behalf of the police officers and the village chiefs.

“Ga gona molelo o o ka nnang teng go sena mosi (there is no smoke without fire). Even though there could be some sort of lies in some incidents, I also believe there could be some element of truth in some cases,” he said, adding that they did not want to be fooled like in the infamous ritual murder case of Segametsi Mogomotsi. A certain woman who also spoke on condition of anonymity after the kgotla meeting said she strongly believed that even though a few teenagers could have taken advantage of the situation and used ritual killings for delinquency,  “we are very concerned, but it is only that we cannot stand in front of the kgotla and start accusing people. That is why many people have decided to boycott the meeting. We are afraid for our safety,” said the woman.

 

However, Kgosi Linchwe Bana Sekai’s nephew, Katlego Mongale, who has been accused on numerous occasions had this to say,  “I am called ‘Raboko’ (ritual murderer) wherever I go in Kgatleng. People say I work for my father because he is a traditional doctor. It has happened at least on two occasions that when people meet me in the bush looking for our livestock they would run and cook up stories that I wanted to kidnap them,” lamented Mongale. “But I swear I am going to take all these people to task for destroying my reputation. I am going to sue them, and they will pay,” he added.

One Phondoro Lebekwa also stated that he was called a ritual murderer at his ward. He said he had given a certain man a lift when he jumped out of his  moving vehicle. “It was when I drove off  the main road to pass by a friend whom I had to collect a parcel from, when to my surprise my passenger opened the door and jumped out of the moving car! I went to the police to report the incident and the man later apologised for his awkward behaviour,” Lebekwa said.

 

The Gazette is however, reliably informed that even though all the three completed police investigated cases from Mochudi Police Station revealed that the complainants had given false information, the three were just recent cases. The first reported cases in which one complainant is a boy are still pending investigation.

 

When contacted for a comment Mochudi Station Commander, Superintendent Simon Sitale explained that the completion of cases depends on their complexity. He did not want to confirm whether the completed cases were recent ones or not.

“I do not want to put the issue that way, I can only reveal that completion of cases depend on their complexity. I would not dwell on the issue you want to drive me into,” said Sitale.