AN EASTERN Cape traditional healer alleged to have provided muti to make miners invincible before the Marikana tragedy has been shot and killed.
Alton Joja, better known as Ndzabe, was killed at his home in Ludeke Holt village in Mbizana yesterday morning. Area police spokesman Captain Mlungisi Matidane confirmed the killing.
He said five men driving a Polo went into Ndzabe’s homestead yesterday morning under the pretence they were there to consult with the healer.
“He walked towards them to find out what they wanted. As he was talking to them, one of the men drew a 9mm pistol and shot him. He fell on the ground and the rest of the men drew R5 rifles and started shooting,” said Matidane.
“Thereafter they ran away hoping they had killed him. He was later taken to St Patrick’s Hospital where he died.”
The vehicle in which the five suspects were travelling was found not far from Ndzabe’s village. It had been set alight.
Police have opened a case of murder. The motive for the killing was not known.
Matidane said Ndzabe had 13 bullet wounds in his chest and rib areas.
A source close to the investigation told the Daily Dispatch that Ndzabe, who was in Durban at the weekend, had received a phone call from a potential client, saying he would be at his house for a consultation on Sunday.
Ndzabe reportedly drove from his home in Durban to the town of Bizana to meet the clients.
A distraught family member confirmed that Ndzabe was shot and killed around 10am yesterday.
She could not give more details about the murder.
Following the Marikana killing last year, survivors spoke of how they were protected by the traditional healer.
Some survivors of the tragedy claimed Ndzabe had given them muti to protect them and make them brave, invincible and invisible in battle.
Ndzabe, a popular 69-year-old healer who practised in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu- Natal, however, denied the claims and said he was not impressed with the publicity he had received in the aftermath of the mine killings.
“I never gave the Lonmin mine workers muti and never interacted with them. I know nothing about that, I don’t know where this all comes from,” Ndzabe told the Daily Dispatch during a 2012 interview.
“I am God’s man and cannot be the one who says people must forge a war, but the one who would urge them to put down weapons and avoid spilling blood.” — /
Marikana sangoma shot and killed
Alton Joja, better known as Ndzabe, was killed at his home in Ludeke Holt village in Mbizana yesterday morning. Area police spokesman Captain Mlungisi Matidane confirmed the killing.
He said five men driving a Polo went into Ndzabe’s homestead yesterday morning under the pretence they were there to consult with the healer.
“He walked towards them to find out what they wanted. As he was talking to them, one of the men drew a 9mm pistol and shot him. He fell on the ground and the rest of the men drew R5 rifles and started shooting,” said Matidane.
“Thereafter they ran away hoping they had killed him. He was later taken to St Patrick’s Hospital where he died.”
The vehicle in which the five suspects were travelling was found not far from Ndzabe’s village. It had been set alight.
Police have opened a case of murder. The motive for the killing was not known.
Matidane said Ndzabe had 13 bullet wounds in his chest and rib areas.
A source close to the investigation told the Daily Dispatch that Ndzabe, who was in Durban at the weekend, had received a phone call from a potential client, saying he would be at his house for a consultation on Sunday.
Ndzabe reportedly drove from his home in Durban to the town of Bizana to meet the clients.
A distraught family member confirmed that Ndzabe was shot and killed around 10am yesterday.
She could not give more details about the murder.
Following the Marikana killing last year, survivors spoke of how they were protected by the traditional healer.
Some survivors of the tragedy claimed Ndzabe had given them muti to protect them and make them brave, invincible and invisible in battle.
Ndzabe, a popular 69-year-old healer who practised in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu- Natal, however, denied the claims and said he was not impressed with the publicity he had received in the aftermath of the mine killings.
“I never gave the Lonmin mine workers muti and never interacted with them. I know nothing about that, I don’t know where this all comes from,” Ndzabe told the Daily Dispatch during a 2012 interview.
“I am God’s man and cannot be the one who says people must forge a war, but the one who would urge them to put down weapons and avoid spilling blood.” — /
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