Private body parts and nose hacked off for muti

A 41-year-old man has survived an attack in which some of his body parts were hacked off, Eastern Cape police said on Thursday.

Captain Lingisile Magama said the 41-year-old man was attacked near Ngxakathe village on Tuesday at 8pm by a man who was suspected to have carried out a series of murders in the Butterworth area.

Magama said the man's assailant had encountered him on a gravel road and had attacked him, using a bayonet knife to cut off his private parts and his nose.

"The man was also severely wounded in the head. We suspect this is the work of a serial killer, who uses the body parts for muti purposes. The man's attacker had told him he had body parts he wanted," said Magama.

The incident was reported to the police on Wednesday at 10pm.

"The man was treated and discharged from hospital," Magama said.

In October a nine-year-old boy from Mncuncuze village, a 35-year-old man from Thuthukga village in Mcentane and a 75-year-old woman from Timane in Dutywa were found murdered with some of their body parts missing. - Sapa