EC judge talks tough against witchcraft attacks on elderly women as killers of victim, 92, jailed

An Eastern Cape judge has issued a stern warning to people who attack elderly women accused of practising witchcraft, saying their actions are unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.

Judge Mbulelo Jolwana said this was another form of abuse and violence perpetrated against women.

Jolwana on Thursday delivered sentencing in the Eastern Cape high court, sitting in Sterkspruit, in the case of four men who killed Nosayinethe Manundu, 92, whom they accused of practising witchcraft, in 2020.

“More often than not those accused of witchcraft and are attacked and killed tend to be elderly women who have been living in their communities for decades,” he said.

“It is mostly in their old age that it is suddenly suspected that they are the cause of some form of suffering or death that occurs in a particular family.

“This is usually based on vague utterances, rumour mongering and gossiping by some members of the family who would be looking for someone to blame.

“In some cases people even seek and get some form of a confirmation of their suspicions from some of the sangomas, some of whom are not scrupulous about the divination they give.

“These kinds of behaviour clearly call for lengthy imprisonment terms to send a clear message to everybody who claims to believe in witchcraft that such conduct, even on the basis of what is supposedly a genuine belief in witchcraft, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“It must be firmly rejected as an antiquated stone age belief with no place in a society based on the rule of law.”

Mzubongile Manundu, 36, Sithembiso Yalwa, 52, Siyabulela Manundu, 34, and Mlungisi Manundu, 40, were handed 17 years’ imprisonment each.

They were sentenced to 20 years for murder and two years on a charge of imputing witchcraft.

National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the court had ordered the sentences to run consecutively, but suspended five years from the 20-year sentence.

Three of the four men are relatives of the victim and Yalwa is their neighbour.

“Their co-accused, Nkosiyoxolo Velemani, 41, was only convicted on charges of imputing witchcraft and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, for which he was sentenced to two years and five years, respectively,” Tyali said.

“The court suspended two years from the sentence, effectively sending him to five years’ imprisonment.”

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The men accused Nosayinethe of bewitching Majuba village’s Samkelo Manundu, who was stabbed to death in Cape Town.

“They stripped the elderly woman naked, assaulted and pushed her into her rondavel and closed the door, and set the house on fire from outside​,” Tyali said.

“As flames engulfed the hut, the old lady managed to escape and ran, but the men caught up with her.

“As the inferno was raging, they could not put her back into the rondavel, so they put her headfirst in a big drum full of water and drowned her.

“Some community members cheered the killers on and never bothered to intervene to save the victim.”

​DispatchLIVE