DNA links cannibalism case to deceased Zanele Hlatshwayo

The Estcourt Magistrates’ Court has resumed the cannibalism case on 16 March, Estcourt and Midlands News reports.

Senior State Advocate Wendy Greeff  told the court that one of the accused, Nino Mbatha, has been sent for mental observation.

READ MORE: Cannibalism is not a crime, says expert

Mbatha was admitted to the Fort Napier Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. He is currently undergoing mental assessment after he was found to be mentally and emotionally unstable.

The Pretoria Forensic Laboratory has also presented the state with the DNA analysis, which confirms that the body parts sent for DNA analysis belongs to 25-year-old deceased Zanele Hlatshwayo.

The investigation is complete and the case was postponed to April 9. The case will continue once Nino Mbatha’s mental assessment is complete.

Magistrate Sookraj told the three remaining accused that their fellow accused has been sent for mental observation, thus he was not present in court today.

Lungisani Magubane‚ Khayelihle Lamula‚ and Sithembiso Sithole remain in custody.

The Ladysmith Gazette reported last year that hundreds of people in the Amangwe area in KwaZulu-Natal confessed to cannibalism – being given human flesh to eat as traditional medicine.

This comes after a man handed himself over to police on August 18 2017, claiming he was “tired of eating human flesh”.

A total of three men were arrested. It is believed that at least one of the men is a practicing nyanga or traditional healer.

The three men would allegedly rape, kill and eat their female victims.

Cannibalism is not a crime, says expert

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