In this week’s episode we investigate the dark world of ritual killings. Our investigation begins in the small village of Tshitavha outside Thohoyandou in the Limpopo Province. In June this year, villagers found the body of 33 year old Mercy Ndou. Her body had been dismembered and several parts had been removed. This is but one in a series of muthi- murders that have rocked the community of Tshitavha. The drama unfolds before our cameras over the next few days. The police are called to address the people of the village at a community gathering. They call on the community to come forward with the names of people whom they suspect killed Mercy. Of the names put forward, one name surfaces several times… that of a local traditional healer, Nelson Baloyi. It is revealed that Mercy had consulted with him before she had disappeared. Special Assignment goes in search of Baloyi but finds that he is no longer in the village. The police however, later arrest Baloyi and another suspect and charge them both with murder. In a shocking turn of events, the grieving family learns that the other suspect is Mercy’s own nephew - Desmond Nemushungwa. The bereaved family receives another blow, when the police apply to the court to have Mercy’s body exhumed. They claim that they forgot to conduct DNA tests on the body. In burying the deceased have they also buried the evidence? “AWAKEN THE DEAD” is produced by Frank Ferro.

• published: 05 Aug 2014
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