75-year-old woman smacked with plank and drowned after being accused of witchcraft

Police have warned that a mob accused of hunting down, assaulting and then drowning a 75-year-old woman after accusing her of witchcraft is still at large, and have appealed for witnesses to come forward

A mob accused of hunting down, assaulting and then drowning a 75-year-old woman after accusing her of witchcraft are still at large, according to police.

The alleged killing, which took place yesterday (May 17) in Ngcobo, South Africa, began with victim Nokhansala Sidiki being taken from her home by “family members” according to a police report, before being escorted to a “nearby stream”. There, Sidiki was “accused of witchcraft” before being “assaulted with a plank and subsequently drowned”.

The report stated: “Her body was found naked next to the stream with bruises to the head and face, as well as strangulation marks on the neck.”

“The suspects fled the scene and remain unknown. No arrests have been made yet.”

A senior police spokesperson condemned the “savage act”, and warned that the “dangerous mob” would face the “full might of the law”.

Lieutenant General Vuyisile Ncata, Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, said: “This is a savage and deeply disturbing attack on a vulnerable elderly woman.”

“Accusing someone of witchcraft and taking the law into your own hands is not only illegal but inhumane.

“We will leave no stone unturned until those responsible are arrested and face the full might of the law.

” I also call on community leaders to help us uproot this dangerous mob justice mentality. If you know something, speak out; silence makes you complicit.”

Last year, a British woman who went missing in South Africa was feared dead after reports emerged that her body parts may have been used in a witchcraft ceremony.

Lorna McSorley, 71, went missing five days into a package holiday at the end of September while on a solo walk in Mkhuze in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province – and hasn’t been seen since.

Initially, police suggested she may have been snatched by a crocodile or fallen victim to foul play, but emphasised there was no evidence to support either theory.

However, Jacob Sabelo Ntshangase, a Zulu culture and language specialist who grew up in the region, told The Times that he believed Lorna could have been killed, due to the body parts from white people or those with albinism believed by some to bring strength and wealth.

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