HE HAD been called by the ancestors to become a sangoma, and his gobela praised his talents as a thwasa.
But the lure of easy gains was too strong for him and it ended badly for the would-be sangoma.
He was bust emptying a fridge after robbing a house and he was beaten to a pulp by an angry mob.
He died later in hospital.
A shack owner from Khayelitsha in Mangaung claimed she had quickly dashed out to go to a shop on Saturday.
When she came back, she noticed that her door was open. She said she found the man unpacking food from her fridge, while her radio speakers were stacked outside.
She screamed for help and the suspect ran away, but unfortunately for him the community caught him and beat him to a pulp.
A sangoma said he was not surprised by the incident.
“I trained him and I took him into my home as a child because his parents are dead. I spoke to him and warned him to stop stealing from people. I ended up chasing him away because he stole from me.”
A community member said: “In my kasi we don’t play with thieves. We kill them. We were tired of this thief sangoma. We warned him.”
Police spokeswoman Sergeant Ikobeng Hlubi said police found the man severely injured on Saturday at about 11pm after he was allegedly beaten up by residents.
She said the shack owner had opened a case of burglary.
The suspect was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment under police guard.
“He died at about 4am on Sunday in hospital. A murder case was subsequently opened,” said Hlubi.
