Postponement in Body Parts Case
Praag (South Africa), July 6, 2009
The trial of a black man accused of trafficking in stolen body parts was postponed on Monday, Mpumalanga police said.
Philemon Batulekile Baloyi, 48, appeared in the Acornhoek Magistrate’s Court where he faces charges of possession and violation of a corpse, said Captain Leonard Hlathi.
He was arrested on June 20 after he allegedly attempted to sell the breast and “manicured left hand” of a woman to an inyanga–a traditional healer.
Baloyi allegedly bought the parts from Ben Mongadi, 35, a casual worker at Doves Funerals in Lydenburg.
Hlathi said Mongadi, who was also on trial, told police he got the breast and hand from a woman who was due to be cremated.
Police are also investigating a claim by Baloyi that he had sold body parts to five inyangas in the Acornhoek area.
Baloyi would appear again in court on July 20, Mongadi on July 14.
Both men remain in police custody.
