An explanatory study on perceptions of factors influencing muthi killings in Butterworth, Eastern Cape

This study is premised on explaining perceptions of Nkcunkcuzo and Tholenicommunity members towards factors influencing muthi killings in Butterworth, Eastern Cape (E.C.). The villagers of the two selected areas have recently experienced number of incidents. It is against this background that this study sought to establish the explanations by soliciting direct experiences of community members on incidences of muthi killings.A plethora of research projects have been previously conducted to understand this phenomenon with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) having its own perspective regarding the muthi killings. However, the researcher deemed it imperative to have explanations of community members’ perceptions of the related factors thereof. The objectives that guided this study mainly included: (1) to establish the explanations of Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo community members on the factors that influence muthi murders, (2) to determine why people in Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo commit muthi murders and (3) to illustrate the medus operandi of muthi murderers in Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo. The qualitative research methodology was employed in the study. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of selected participants and respondents of this study and data was collected through self-administered questionnaires and conducted interviews by the researcher. This study established that it is rich people and politicians who are most probably reasons for incidents of muthi murders in Etholeni and in Nkcunkcuzo. Business people want to accumulate their wealth and get rich using muthi. The belief behind this is that when muthi is mixed with human body parts it is bound to be strong eventually attracting more people (customers) to the businesses owned by these people. Ultimately this leads to profit accumulation. On the other hand, the involvement of politicians in the incidents of muthi killings is mainly associated with maintaining political power by remaining as centres of preference to the community members. The participants have echoed the same sentiments on the factors that influence muthi murders in Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo villages, Butterworth in the Eastern Cape. vi Finally, this study recommended as follows: The Etholeni and Nkcunkcuzo community leaders must work hand in hand with the government to establish centres where children, older persons and people with disabilities, particularly those who are without people to protect them, can be institutionalised in order to guarantee their safety; The chiefs of Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzomust collaborate with the social service professionals in order to address the issues of mistrust among community members through community development programs; The community policing forums of Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo must be capacitated and their knowledge strengthened by the criminal justice agencies on muthi murders to avoid confusion about muthi murders with other different types of murders; The government of South Africa must formulate an elementary social curriculum on muthi killings in order to educate the villagers on the muthi killings from a criminal justice point of view; The legislative framework must be reviewed in order to impose harsher sentences to the muthi murderers and the accomplices thereof; There must be social welfare organizations in Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo villages in order to take care of those children that have lost their care-givers due to muthi killings; The traditional leaders of Tholeni and Nkcunkcuzo must formulate a charter for community norms and standards to circumvent the use and selling of drugs in the concerned communities/villages. More research projects must be funded in order to get a full understanding of the causes of muthi killings and to provide a word of scientific reason to the criminal justice system, particularly as it relates to muthi killings in South Africa. Key words: Muthi, Muthi murders/killings, rituals, Modus Operandi (MO), Victim