The gruesome murder and dismemberment of seven-year-old Philasande Shange has drawn widespread shock and outcry across the KZN North Coast.

Shange went missing from near his home in Ntshawini last Thursday, with parts of his body – a leg and his head – found by search and rescue teams on Sunday.

Although it has not been forensically confirmed that the body parts belonged to Shange, they match his description.

Further increasing the likelihood is that the remains were found after a location was sent to Shange’s family via an SMS from an unknown number.

The family received another SMS from the same source on Sunday, alleging that the rest of the boy’s body had been sold to buyers in Mozambique, says KwaDukuza SAPS spokesperson Constable Sipesihle Myeni.

“It is believed the body parts may have been sold as part of ukuthwala, which is a ritual sacrifice of a child used in the muthi trade to generate wealth,” adds Myeni.

Efforts to trace the number have so far been unsuccessful after a case of murder was opened at KwaDukuza Police Station on Sunday.

According to Sinenhlanhla Black MaShange, a cousin of Philasande’s mother, the family had also received threats.

“Among the text messages were other messages threatening our family to leave the area, as a group of neighbours are unhappy with the family, and this was done to teach us a lesson,” MaShange wrote on Facebook.

The family declined to comment when contacted by the North Coast Courier.

KwaDukuza Mayor Lindile Nhaca and KZN MEC for social development Nonhlanhla Khoza condemned the murder.

“Such outlandish criminality is unjustifiable, desperate, barbaric and reckless. This callous action against an innocent child is unacceptable and needs to be deplored with the contempt it deserves and without reservation as it triggers unwarranted unrest and instability in our communities,” says Nhaca, who visited the family on Monday.

Khoza sent a team of social workers to provide psychosocial support to the family and community.

Six investigators have been appointed to the case, with no further updates available at the time of publication.

If you have any information that may be useful, contact KwaDukuza SAPS on 032 551 8206 or 079 696 3522.