Five suspected cannibals face murder charges

FIVE South African men charged over suspected cannibalism appeared in court yesterday after one of them handed himself in to police and said he was “tired of eating human flesh”.

Scores of angry protesters gathered outside the courtroom as the men, from the rural town of Escourt, in Kwazulu-natal province, appeared in the dock to face the charges.

They were arrested over a week ago after the first man’s confession led to the arrest of his four co-accused.

“All the five men appeared in court on Monday for a bail hearing but opted to abandon their bail application,” Thembeka Mbhele, a police spokesman, told AFP. The accused, all in their 30s, are charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and possession of body parts.

One of the men is reported to be a witch doctor. According to police, the first suspect walked into Escourt police station on Aug 18 with a bag containing a human leg and a hand. He told officers on duty that he had eaten human flesh and led them to a house where more remains were found.

“At this stage we don’t know who these body parts belong to. We are still awaiting DNA results,” said Mr Mbhele.