MECKLENBURG – Residents are still in shock after the grim discovery of the burned body of a man on a road at Ga Mpheti Village last Thursday.A panga was lying next to the body of Lazarus Mphethi (59).The Mecklenburg SAPS have launched an investigation into the murder.According to the spokesman for the SAPS, Sgt Kgalake Mampuru, Mphethi’s body was discovered around 07:00 on a gravel road in the village.”He was burned, there were stones and a burned panga next to his body. There was also blood sprinkled all over the scene,” he explained,Mampuru said, according to the victim’s wife, Monica Mphethi, her husband left Ga Selala Village early that morning to fetch tobacco at a close-by village, Ga Podile.”The deceased (sic) used an alternative route from Ga Selala which passes via Ga Mphethi, since their house was torched last year in November by community members who alleged Lazarus has been involved in the death of a four-year-old boy, Dusa Mpheti.”The family were no longer staying at Ga Mphethi but were accommodated in Ga Selala by relatives,” explained Mampuru.In November 2016, Steelburger/Lydenburg News published an article about the homes of Wilson Mphethi (30), Elmon Mphethi (61) and Lazarus, which were destroyed and burned by villagers.The trio were accused of being involved in Dusa’s death. The boy went missing from the troubled village while he was attending a cleansing ceremony and the unveiling of a tombstone with family. His body was found near a river a day after his disappearance.Three sangomas were consulted with regard to the boy’s disappearance. A second group of five residents went to another sangoma who could apparently reveal culprits who were involved in evil doings through a mirror.”After the consultations, a community meeting was held where a decision was made to torch the houses of those who were mirrored by the sangoma,” a source told the newspaper.Mampuru said they suspected the two incidents might be related. “We cannot overrule that the community might be seeking revenge from the families. We will keep digging as we investigate.”He said they were still examining the arson cases and also the recent murder.Mampuru condemned the incident, and appealed to the residents to work together with the police when they have concerns.
