Bring back her head, demand protesters
A man accused of brutally killing his ex and then setting her dismembered body alight, appeared briefly in court.
|||Pietermaritzburg - Banners and placards with the words “Bring back her head” were carried by fervent protesters outside the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday where a man charged with the murder and dismemberment of a Maqongqo teenager appeared briefly.
Siphelele Chamane, 21, is charged with the murder of Simangele Khanyile, 18.
According to police, they made the gruesome discovery of Khanyile’s body in a field near Tamboville on December 22 last year.
Her body was burnt beyond recognition and had been cut into pieces, with the limbs wrapped in a blanket.
Khanyile’s head was found days later in a plastic bag almost 500m away from the other body parts.
Days later, Chamane was arrested for the murder.
According to police investigations, Khanyile had called Chamane on the day she was murdered to arrange a visit to his Tamboville home.
This was to discuss an argument she had had with Chamane’s girlfriend.
It is believed Khanyile was Chamane’s ex-girlfriend.
It is also believed that after this meeting, Khanyile was killed. She was stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver and her body was then doused with petrol and set alight.
Police believe Chamane then used a carving knife to cut Khanyile’s body into pieces, removing the head, hands and legs from the torso.
He then allegedly carried the body parts to a secluded bush on a dirt road, abandoned the limbs on one side of the road and dumped the head a few hundred metres away.
The next day police were alerted to the body parts by a passer-by.
Witchcraft was initially thought to be the motive behind the murder, due to the gruesome nature of the crime, however, police now believe it may have been the consequences of a love triangle.
Chamane was expected to apply for bail on Wednesday, but the case was postponed to next week to allow for the defence to verify an alternative address if Chamane was granted bail.
The State is opposing the bail application.
Daily News