Three men, including two Mozambican witchdoctors, are set to appear in separate courtrooms this week in connection with the horrific murder of 20-year-old Gontse Makhubela, whose mutilated and partly burnt body was found at a refuse dump in November 2023.

The suspects were apprehended following a meticulous investigation by the North West police’s District Serious and Violent Crimes Team. The arrests and forthcoming court appearances were confirmed in a statement by the South African Police Service.

Makhubela was reported missing by her family before her badly decomposed body was discovered at a dumping site in Elandskraal, Brits, on November 23, 2023.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone says she was allegedly lured to her death by one of the suspects. 

 “The victim was tricked and lured to death by the 29-year-old suspect who the second suspect tasked to find a young woman fitting a particular profile to be murdered in order that the second suspect could have her organs for muthi,” said Mokgwabone.

The investigation revealed a sinister plot orchestrated by a Mozambican man who claims to be a traditional healer.

“Investigation has also revealed that the 38-year-old suspect is an illegal Mozambican witchdoctor, and, on his orders, the deceased was kidnapped before she was brutally murdered, dismembered and burnt,” said Mokgwabone.

The breakthrough in the case came on August 6, 2025, when police, acting on credible information, arrested two suspects, aged 29 and 38.

The men were linked to the murder after police recovered Makhubela’s cellular phone.

Further investigation led police to Winterveldt in Gauteng province, where a third suspect, also a traditional healer from Mozambique, was arrested.

Police revealed a chilling detail: the third suspect “was found in possession of the deceased’s organs.”

The first two suspects, aged 29 and 38, are expected to appear in the Brits Magistrate’s Court today. They face charges of murder, kidnapping, violation and/or defiling a corpse, as well as contravention of Section 49(1) of the Immigration Act.

The third suspect is scheduled to appear in the Garankuwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Investigations are ongoing, and police have not ruled out the possibility of more arrests.

The North West Acting Provincial Police Commissioner, Major General Patrick Asaneng, commended the dedicated work of the Brits Detectives and the Hartbeespoortdam Crime Prevention team. 

IOL News

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