Zanele Hlatshwayo is thought to be the woman who was murdered and cut up before her flesh was shared between neighbours
Photos of the woman who is believed to be the victim of five cannibals who were arrested after she was brutally abducted, r*ped and murdered has emerged. Her flesh was eaten in a scandal that is rocking South Africa.
Reports in South Africa revealed that the woman identified as Zanele Hlatshwayo, 25, is thought to be the woman who was murdered and cut up before her flesh was shared around neighbours in an unfolding cannibal saga in Estcourt, a town in the uThukela District of KwaZulu-Natal Province.
A report by Dailymail revealed that about 300 people in surrounding villages have so far admitted to knowingly eating human flesh, and at the home of one of the arrested men eight human ears were found in a cooking pot.
Hlatshwayo's mother, Philiswe, now fears the worst after police showed the family blood-soaked clothing found on what was left of the body which appeared to belong to that of her daughter, from Shayamoya.
Hlatshwayo vanished on July 25 after heading for Pietermaritzburg to visit her grandmother and had stopped to see relatives at Estcourt 20 miles away en-route. She never arrived at her intended final destination.
Detectives said the alleged victim's mother was not overly concerned, but her feelings changed on Monday when Hlatshwayo's cousin Nozipho Hlatshwayo heard that four men had been arrested in Estcourt for cannibalism.
They, along with a fifth man, have been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder as part of an alleged cannibalism ring which could include untold victims.
The first four arrested, including two witch doctors, were taken into custody after a man walked into a police station and told officers he was 'tired of eating human flesh' and produced human body parts as proof.
When she was told she had never arrived she said she was 'chilled to the spine'. Nozipho, with tears in her eyes, said:'We went straight to the police. An officer asked us what Zanele had been wearing on the day she left home.
I was so close to Zanele that I knew even the colour of underwear she had on the day. 'She wore black leggings, a shirt and a bag in which she had stuffed her jeans. I gave the police officer this description and he asked us to wait.'
When the police officer returned, he carried into the room what Nozipho believes is the outfit Hlatshwayo had been wearing - soaked in blood. They were told an armless, beheaded and severely mutilated body had been found in Esigodlweni, east of Estcourt, in a veld.
The Hlatshwayos are among about half-a-dozen families who have since gone to police in Estcourt to check whether their missing loved ones were victims in the cannibalism scandal that has rocked the largely rural community.
Nozipho said that just before Hlatshwayo left for Pietermaritzburg she had spoken to them about apparent kidnappings in the area. She was reportedly worried that abductions were on the rise.
Nozipho said: 'The police would not show us her body and the body has been sent for a post-mortem. The body will not be released until the identity is confirmed.'
Following the arrest of a fifth man believed to be involved in the bizarre cannibalism scandal in at least three villages surrounding Estcourt, police believe more suspects and accomplices will be arrested.
Armed guards have been brought in to increase security at the court appearances for the suspected cannibals, as tempers are running hot with a large number of local people reported missing.
The revelations prompted villagers in Esigodlweni to hold a public meeting where 300 admitted eating human flesh or digging up bodies and selling their bones to traditional witch doctors.
After the first man walked into the police station with body parts, he led officers to a house where more body gruesome remains were found which led to the discovery of the woman's mutilated body.
A trio of alleged cannibals aged 22, 29, and 32 were initially arrested and two are said to be witch doctors or traditional healers. A fourth and fifth arrest were made over the following days.
Ward councillor Mthembeni Majola who hosted the meeting in Esigodlweni told News 24 that around 300 residents confessed to visiting the two witchdoctors and knowingly eating human flesh given to them.
He said: 'Families, people we know and live with, have now confessed to eating this woman. There has to be more victims if 300 say they have eaten. It cannot be only one. 'When the police were following this matter they discovered eight ears in a pot where one man was staying. That means there is much more to this'.
The killing of people in South Africa for their body parts to be used in 'muti' (medicine) by witchdoctors is not uncommon and people with albinism are particularly at risk of so called muti-killings.
Police continue to investigate the cannibal killing and the search for more victims.
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