Supposed messiah drowns while searching for a boy
The recent drowning of a 12-year-old triggered the community of Machakaneng to seek assistance from a sangoma, but this has backfired, as the supposed messiah also drowned on Friday.
ATOK – The recent drowning of a 12-year-old triggered the community of Machakaneng to seek assistance from a sangoma, but this has backfired, as the supposed messiah also drowned on Friday.
The body of traditional healer Mopipi Abraham Phiri (30) was retrieved from the Olifants (Lepelle) River after he attempted to fulfill his vow to the community to find the boy who was swept away by the same river on December 22.
“The traditional healer allegedly told the community that the boy was still alive and that he needed R13 000 to retrieve him from the river. The community allegedly agreed to first give him R10 000, and that he would get the balance after the job was done,” said Limpopo SAPS’ spokesman, Brig Motlafelo Mojapelo.
On Friday at about 17:00, Phiri got into the river, and was afterwards presumed drowned, as he never resurfaced.
The police were called and the search and rescue team was sent out. His body was recovered on Sunday when it emerged from the shallow waters on the riverbanks, several kilometres from where he had got into the water.
The provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Limpopo, Lt Gen Nneke Ledwaba, visited the scene and condemned the actions of the sangoma who performed dangerous rituals that ended his life.
He also warned all community members to desist from entering flooding rivers for whatever reasons, to avoid drowning.
Meanwhile, the search for the boy is still continuing. Mojapelo said human remains were found by a fisherman in the same river on December 29, but this is still the subject of DNA examination. The Limpopo SAPS have opened an inquest docket and investigations are continuing.
