NEWS & ANALYSIS

"Muthi smiley terror!" - Daily Sun

The front page and lead story of SA's largest daily newspaper, May 12 2014

Daily Sun (May 12 2014) - IT WAS just a normal, rainy night and the Gcobo family slept peacefully in their beds. But during the dark night evil people prowled around their house. AND WHEN THE GCOBOS WENT OUTSIDE THEY FOUND A GRINNING SMILEYHANGINGFROMTHEIR FRONT GATE!

"I will never eat a smiley again in my life!" said Nothembalethu Gcobo (42), from Litha Park in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. "When I see smileys now

they will always remind me of this." She said they have been terrified since they went outside on Friday morning and found the sheep's head with a cotton rope threaded through its ears and secured with what looked like a red Christmas cracker. A passing neighbour on his way to work alerted Nothembalethu about the horrible sight outside her house. When Daily Sun arrived, curious onlookers were gathered around, watching proceedings from a safe distance.

"We were terrified when we found this thing," said Nothembalethu.

"I've only ever seen anything like this in the movies, not at my own house. We can't even open our own gate because of it!"

She said the head is a threat to them.

"We run a successful business selling airtime, cold drinks and electricity and people are jealous of us."

Lawrence Gcobo (58), Nothembalethu's husband, said: "This incident will not affect me or my business."

But he believes the head has something to do with his sore feet.

"I believe this is the reason I struggle to walk sometimes," he said.

"But it won't stop me from living my life. Only God can decide what is going to happen to me."

A neighbour, Giza Hobo (56), said he had last seen something like this when he was a young boy at school. "We found sheep intestines at the school," he said.

"I want to go to a sangoma and find out who did this."

Traditional healer Madoda Mtyaphi told Daily Sun the sheep's head is pure evil.

"This is not a message from the ancestors. This is the actions of evil people with their evil ways. This is nothing but Satanism," said Mtyaphi.

"I advise the family to do what they believe in. They must consult a sangoma or go to church, but they must do it soon!"

See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....

 

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 297,614 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 4th Quarter 2013) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

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