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Giyani – A 65-year-old traditional healer and four others have been arrested after the body of a woman was found with her private parts cut out in a "ritual act" near Giyani, Limpopo, police said on Saturday.
Lieutenant Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the body of Hlayisani Precious Hlongwane, 26, was found in the bushes in Nsavulani village outside Giyani on Thursday, after a search by the police and the local community.
Ngoepe said after the disappearance of the woman, community members torched four houses and damaged one car.
"The motive for the killing is still unknown but the ritual murder may not be ruled out as her private parts, breasts and lips were removed," Ngoepe said.
The suspects will appear in the the Giyani Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
In a separate incident on Monday, a Limpopo man was found murdered and his face mutilated.
His nose, lips, and both ears had been cut off. He appeared to have been stabbed to death somewhere else, before his body was taken to where it was found.
Ngoepe had urged community members to refrain from engaging in the "barbaric acts" of attacking and killing people they suspect of being criminals.
"The police must be given the space to operate and will be merciless when dealing with anyone who makes himself or herself guilty of mob justice," he said.
