Coot
02-11-2004, 12:36 PM
The horrifying fate of a black farm labourer whose remains were found in a lion enclosure has exposed the racial divisions still lingering near the surface in South Africa, nearly a decade after the abolition of apartheid.
Mr Crossley and three of his labourers on the Engedi game farm, Simon Mathebula, Robert Mnisi and Richard Mathebula, were remanded in custody yesterday in the rural town of Phalaborwa, 200 miles from Johannesburg, charged with Mr Shisane's murder. Among the few undisputed facts in the case is that the victim's skull and part of his leg were discovered at the Mokwalo White Lion Project, 10 miles from Engedi, after his family reported him missing last weekend.
Mr Shisane was allegedly assaulted, tied up and driven to Mokwalo, where he was thrown over the fence into a lion enclosure to be eaten alive.
"The farmer and three workers allegedly watched as a lion mauled him, before it dragged him into the bush," said Superintendent Ronel Otto. She said the owners of the project knew nothing of the incident. They breed white lions, which are paler and at more than 600lb, weigh nearly 70lb more than the more common African lion.
An Engedi farm worker said he became suspicious "when I saw two Engedi workers with blood on their shirts shortly afterwards and asked questions, but was ignored". He reported the matter to his supervisors. When police went to the lion reserve, they found only Mr Shisane's skull, part of his leg and scraps of clothing. The remains have been sent to Pretoria for forensic testing.
I knew there were still tensions in South Africa, but I had no idea they were this bad. (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=490026)
Mr Crossley and three of his labourers on the Engedi game farm, Simon Mathebula, Robert Mnisi and Richard Mathebula, were remanded in custody yesterday in the rural town of Phalaborwa, 200 miles from Johannesburg, charged with Mr Shisane's murder. Among the few undisputed facts in the case is that the victim's skull and part of his leg were discovered at the Mokwalo White Lion Project, 10 miles from Engedi, after his family reported him missing last weekend.
Mr Shisane was allegedly assaulted, tied up and driven to Mokwalo, where he was thrown over the fence into a lion enclosure to be eaten alive.
"The farmer and three workers allegedly watched as a lion mauled him, before it dragged him into the bush," said Superintendent Ronel Otto. She said the owners of the project knew nothing of the incident. They breed white lions, which are paler and at more than 600lb, weigh nearly 70lb more than the more common African lion.
An Engedi farm worker said he became suspicious "when I saw two Engedi workers with blood on their shirts shortly afterwards and asked questions, but was ignored". He reported the matter to his supervisors. When police went to the lion reserve, they found only Mr Shisane's skull, part of his leg and scraps of clothing. The remains have been sent to Pretoria for forensic testing.
I knew there were still tensions in South Africa, but I had no idea they were this bad. (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=490026)