South Africa pupils burn 'witches' to death

BBC ^ | 5 September 2007

[Lorianne]

Two South African women have been burned to death after a group of students accused them of bewitching their high school with evil spirits. Msaba Zungu and Thabitha Thusi, both 60, were seized from their homes near Manguzi in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Students and adults dragged them to a sports field where they were doused with petrol and set alight on Sunday.

Manhlenga High School pupils accused the women of being witches after they began to suffer strange crying fits.

Investigators said Ms Zungu died at the scene and Ms Thusi succumbed to her burns injuries on Monday.

Police captain Jabulani Mdletshe told the BBC News website: "On 17 August, the students at the mixed high school began to cry randomly and they did not know why.

"The students held a couple of meetings and allegedly decided the problem was these two women were witches who had cast a bad muthi (spell) on the school.

"At 8pm on Sunday, some students and community members allegedly took the women from their homes to a football field and set them on fire."

No arrests have been made but police are following a positive line of inquiry, said Capt Mdletshe.

[SJSAMPLE]

Yay, Africa!!!

Throw another $14 Billion on the fire, please.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

She turned me into a newt?

[Corin Stormhands]

Thread dementor ping.

[Antoninus]

Can't have happened. Not in current day post-apartheid, tolerant South Africa.

Unless these students were white Catholics. Then it all makes sense. /sarc

[denydenydeny]

Thanks to Winnie Mandela for helping make the live burning of people an acceptable form of conflict resolution.

[Right_Rev]

Did the children stop crying?

[mimaw]

I sure hope the secret service keeps Hillary out of Africa.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Students and adults dragged them to a sports field where they were doused with petrol and set alight on Sunday."

I'm sure the world court will assess the appropriate number of carbon credits.

[FreePaul]

How primitive. Don’t they know that witches should be drowned? The good people in our northeast knew this a few hundred years ago. In any case I guess that it’s OK just as long as they really were witches.

[JerseyDvl]

no necklaces this time? they must have run out of tires....sick people.

[Ancesthntr]

Finally! Evidence that not all of the evil in the world occurred as part of Apartheid (which I don’t defend).

Of course, somehow or other I think that if Apartheid isn’t to blame, it’ll find its way to the doorstep of...the JOOOOOOS.

[wbill]

Please do not feed the diversity.

[Ancesthntr]

"At 8pm on Sunday, some students and community members allegedly took the women from their homes to a football field and set them on fire."

The punishment should fit the crime. Exactly.

[Lorianne]

Don’t be silly, it’s Bush’s fault.

[Niuhuru]

*snicker* Good point.

[TRY ONE]

Further news from African Schools: Two cannibals were expelled for buttering up a teacher!

[Landru]

"Two South African women have been burned to death after a group of students accused them of bewitching their high school with evil spirits. Msaba Zungu and Thabitha Thusi, both 60, were seized from their homes near Manguzi in KwaZulu-Natal province. Students and adults dragged them to a sports field where they were doused with petrol and set alight on Sunday."

Hard habits {ie, tire 'necklaces'} are hard to break, I guess.

Y'know, it just dawned on me.

...could as well happened in Milwaukee.

[Riverman94610]

“Ding dong,the witch is dead,witch,old witch,the wicked witch
Ding dong the wicked witche(s) are dead”