By a Correspondent
A Zimbabwean traditional healer has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a South African court for the murder of a 16-year-old girl whose dismembered remains were concealed at different locations in Limpopo province.
Tatenda Sithole was sentenced by the Polokwane High Court after being convicted of murdering Modjadji Niccol Thoka, in a case involving the concealment of human remains and the intended use of some body parts for ritual purposes.
According to reports from South Africa, Sithole was handed an additional 13 years’ imprisonment for defeating the ends of justice and violating a corpse. The sentences will run concurrently, leaving him with an effective sentence of life imprisonment.
The court also declared the 29-year old Sithole unfit to possess a firearm.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentence, saying it demonstrated the importance of holding perpetrators of serious crimes accountable.
The court heard that on January 5, 2024, the traditional healer, encountered Thoka after she had left her home to visit a nearby spaza shop in Botlokwa, Limpopo.
Sithole took the teenager to an unused house, where she was killed.
He and an accomplice, identified as Brian, subsequently dismembered her body and concealed the remains at different locations, including in a shallow pit.
Brian has already been sentenced in connection with the case.
The State told the court that some of the victim’s remains were intended for ritual purposes.
The remains were discovered by community members a few days after the killing, prompting a police investigation that ultimately led to Sithole’s arrest.
Sithole pleaded not guilty to all the charges during his trial.
During sentencing proceedings, the prosecution highlighted the devastating impact of the crime on Thoka’s family.
State advocate Eric Mabapa presented a victim impact statement prepared by court preparation officer Morongwe Moifo, detailing the family’s suffering following the teenager’s death.
The prosecution argued that the brutality of the killing had compounded the family’s trauma, while the concealment and dismemberment of the remains deprived them of the opportunity to give their daughter a proper burial.
Mabapa also raised concerns over the killing of women in South Africa, arguing that the courts needed to send a strong message that such crimes would not be tolerated.
Limpopo Director of Public Prosecutions Ivy Thenga welcomed the sentence, emphasising the importance of protecting human life and pursuing justice for victims of violent crime.
“It can never be overemphasised how important human life is. We will remain vigorous in our pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers,” Thenga told the media in South Africa.
