2008/03/14
WHILE a second suspect in the brutal Bizana serial killings appeared in
court
yesterday, shock and disbelief was expressed at the school where the first
arrested suspect, a 19-year-old, is a pupil.
The school’s principal, staff and pupils were trying to come to terms with
the
fact “model pupil” Vusi Sixikixa is being held in connection with the
crimes.
Sonwabile Qhosha, 24, the second suspect arrested after the grisly murder
of
18 women, whose ***ual organs were removed, appeared briefly in a packed
Bizana Magistrate’s Court.
Qhosha said he would conduct his own defence. He is facing four counts of
murder, five counts of rape and one of attempted murder. After being read
his
rights, he said he had no intention of applying for bail.
During his appearance, a heavily-armed police contingent was present.
Shackled
in leg irons, Qhosha was escorted out of the court to a Citi Golf. Angry
Bizana villagers shouted and banged against the car’s windows, prompting
police to try to hold them back before Qhosha was driven off.
Meanwhile, a schoolfriend of Grade 10 pupil Sixikixa, who was the first
suspect to appear in court, told how his friend had “joked about two of
the
murders”.
Classmate Tabo Makhoba, from the Nombuso Senior Secondary School in ****t
Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, some 40km from ****t Shepstone, told how he had
spoken
to Sixikixa about the killing of two women who worked at the nearby Wild
Coast
Sun Casino Resort.
When Sixikixa made a joke about the murders, Makhoba said he had not been
offended by it as he believed his friend was not being serious.
In their gruesome murder, both women had their genitals removed, which
were
allegedly sold to a muti collector in Bizana for R300 each.
Makhoba, 17, also a Grade 10 pupil, said he could not believe that
Sixikixa
had been implicated in the killings. “I don’t believe he is that kind of a
person.” He said Sixikixa was a “very nice guy” and they had been friends
for
more than 10 years.
Makhoba fought to hold back his tears as he recalled being taken in for
questioning by police. He said what made him sad was to see his long-time
friend in leg irons, accused of such violent crimes.
Sixikixa’s class teacher, Sthembile Gumede, also expressed shock at
Sixikixa’s
arrest. “He (Sixikixa) is very co-operative in class; I am really
struggling
to believe this; to me it’s as if this is a big mistake,” she said.
The school’s principal, Marela Nhleko, said: “The whole school has been
devastated by the news.”
A third suspect, a 30-year-old man who was arrested in ****t Elizabeth on
Wednesday, where he was thought to have been in hiding, is expected to
appear
in court today.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela said two muti
collectors
would be arrested soon.
http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=183022
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