Sangoma who beheaded a client gets life, four years after a family quarrel broke the silence

A North West sangoma has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder and beheading of a client he had lured into a bush under the pretence of a cleansing ritual in January 2019.

William Thibedi, 31, was convicted in the Atamelang Regional Court. As IOL reported on 8 October, the killing stayed concealed for nearly four years until a family argument exposed it in December 2022.

The National Prosecuting Authority said Thibedi arranged the ritual after the victim approached him for spiritual assistance. NPA spokesperson Lindiwe Mabasa said he enlisted his younger brother and a friend, then took the victim to a secluded bush area at night.

The ritual began with Thibedi pouring water mixed with traditional medicine over the man. He then sent the two others away, saying the next stage was confidential and had to be performed in private.

According to Mabasa, the two men returned a short while later and found Thibedi cutting off the victim’s head with a knife. When they questioned him, Mabasa said, Thibedi claimed his ancestors had instructed him to do it.

He dug a grave and buried the body, then placed the severed head and hands in a bucket and took it away from the scene. He threatened his brother and friend with serious consequences if they spoke about what they had seen.

The victim’s family reported him missing, not knowing he had been killed during the supposed cleansing.

The silence held until December 2022, when an argument between Thibedi and his younger brother turned into a breakthrough. During the dispute the brother threatened to expose the murder. A cousin overheard the confrontation and alerted other relatives, and the information reached the victim’s family, who took the allegations to the police.

A murder investigation was opened at Madibogo Police Station and Thibedi was arrested that same month. Mabasa said he made a confession after his arrest and pointed out where he had buried the remains. Police recovered the head and the bucket it had been kept in.

State Advocate Edward Manicus led evidence from several witnesses, including Thibedi’s younger brother, his friend, relatives and investigating officer Sergeant Magakolodi Moribe. The prosecution argued the evidence was direct, corroborated and free of material contradictions, and that Thibedi had planned the killing and used the ritual to isolate the victim. The court accepted the submissions and found premeditated murder proved beyond reasonable doubt.

During sentencing, State Prosecutor Itumeleng Lobese presented aggravating factors, including victim impact statements compiled by Court Preparation Officer Thembinkosi Madiba. The statements set out the emotional and psychological effect on the victim’s family. The court agreed that life imprisonment was warranted given the gravity of the offence, its premeditated nature and the fact that Thibedi had abused the trust of a person who came to him for help. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Dr Rachel Makhari, Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, welcomed the sentence. “This sentence sends a strong message that the criminal justice system will deal decisively with those who exploit vulnerable and unsuspecting individuals for criminal purposes,” she said. Makhari said the NPA remains committed to justice for victims and their families and to holding perpetrators of violent crimes accountable.

The case is a reminder of how long a killing can go unreported when the only witnesses are intimidated into silence. It also shows what broke that silence: not a police breakthrough but a quarrel inside the killer’s own family, and a relative who passed what she heard to the people who needed it. The victim’s family spent almost four years not knowing what had happened to him.

Source: IOL, Sangoma who beheaded client during ‘cleansing ritual’ sentenced to life imprisonment