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Hundreds of people in African town confess to eating human flesh

The South African town of Estcourt
The South African town of Estcourt

Hundreds of people in a South African town have admitted eating human flesh.

The shocking revelation came to light at a community meeting following the arrests of four men in the area for killing a woman and eating her body.

Nino Mbatha, Sthembiso Sithole, Lindokuhle Masondo and Lungisani Magubane were charged with murder and conspiracy, after one of them walked into a police station and announced that he was ‘tired of eating human flesh’.

He then presented police with a human hand and part of a leg.

One of the four – Nino Mbatha – was a nyanga, a type of traditional ‘healer’, according to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele.

At a community meeting of 700 people after the court case, 300 of those present admitted they had eaten human remains after they were given them by Mbatha as medicine.

Ward councillor Mthembeni Majola, who held the meeting in question at the Esigodlweni community hall, said the people admitted to cannibalism freely.

He said: ‘We don’t know what to do or who to trust.

‘People we know and live with have now confessed to eating this woman.

‘This has happened within our community. Families, people we know and live with have now confessed to eating this woman.’

People at the meeting also admitted to digging up graves on the instruction of Mbatha, and bringing him the bones they uncovered.

The healer allegedly told them that doing so would make them stronger, and would bring them wealth in the future.

The Occult-Related Crime Unit is now investigating.