Man back in court for ‘hacking’ his grandmother

Suspect accuses granny of witchcraft

A 39-year-old Mpumalanga man accused of fatally hacking his 95-year-old grandmother with a shovel has been remanded in custody. Samuel Malele from Matenteng village in Bushbuckridge accused his grandmother, Maria Mashego, of bewitching him and allegedly attacked her with a shovel on Monday. Police spokesperson in Mpumalanga Brig Leonard Hlathi said the victim’s lifeless body was left outside her house while the grandson sat on a sofa in the house. “According to information we have, the victim, 95-yearold Maria Mashego of Matenteng, was at her son’s place nearby, as they are neighbours. “While talking to her son, her grandson Samuel Malele called her from her home and she left her son. Her son said he heard some strange noise coming from her house and he rushed there.

“On arrival, he found his nephew busy hacking his mother with a shovel as she lay in a pool of blood. The suspect warned him not to interfere as he would kill him too.

The victim’s lifeless body was left outside her house while the grandson sat on a sofa in the house Brigadier Leonard Hlathi MPUMALANGA POLICE SPOKESPERSON

“The son then went out to call for help from community members. When they came back the suspect was sitting in the sofa while his grandmother was lying outside the house. We later heard allegations that Malele had accused his grandmother of bewitching him,” said Hlathi. After the suspect’s arrest, he appeared in the Bushbuckridge magistrate’s court to face a charge of murder. He was remanded in custody.

He is expected to formally apply for bail tomorrow in the same court.