The bodies of five people were discovered in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe (South Africa), between August 28 and September 4, 2023. The bodies were stripped and some organs and body parts were removed.
All victims were homeless youth and all had the characteristic head injuries that were the leading cause of death.
It may seem like the plot of a low-budget horror movie or an urban legend – a maniac hunts homeless people for human flesh, but for Zimbabweans it has become a cruel reality.
On September 4, police arrested 20-year-old Thandolwenkosi Ndlovu on suspicion of a series of mass murders and cannibalism, which Ndlovu immediately admitted, saying he had indeed killed and eaten human flesh.
It is true that he later retracted his words and said that he had confessed under pressure, but the police have serious evidence against him: someone noticed Ndlovu when he tried to cut off the genitals of his last victim.
When he became afraid, he ran away, but the police soon found him and arrested him. It is alleged that Ndlovu murdered homeless people with heavy cobblestones.
He snuck up on the intended victim and hit him on the head with a rock. He then tore open the stomach with a piece of glass and pulled out the internal organs, cutting off the genitals and sometimes arms or legs so that he could then roast them over the fire and eat them.
Ndlovu had no problem killing five people in just eight days as he was homeless himself and did not arouse suspicion among other vagabonds.
It is also reported that before Ndlovu started killing people in Harare, he was involved in the deaths of three people in his hometown of Bulawayo. And he even managed to serve two terms in prison.
When someone in Harare started brutally killing and eating homeless people, there was widespread panic among them. In an attempt to save their lives, homeless people began gathering in large groups at night. Some even rushed to flee the city.
‘I’m lucky to be alive, but I could have been dead already. Imagine being roasted at the stake. He’s been arrested, but I’m still scared. The streets are no longer safe,” said 16-year-old wanderer Panashe Uchena.
According to Uchena, he personally saw the remains of the cannibal’s victims, which lay on the ground without multiple body parts. Many of the homeless in Harare are teenagers and young adults under the age of 25, just like the killer himself.
“It was scary, especially when I saw the dead bodies of the victims. There was blood everywhere, everything was leaking out. I don’t know what happened to him (Ndlovu),” Uchena said.
Another drifter, 17-year-old Blessing Maungwa, said although Ndlovu’s arrest had brought them relief, they were now afraid to continue living on the streets.
“When we lost one of our own, we thought the killer was a visiting cult member. And it was a hard week for us when we found out that more homeless people had been murdered. The streets turned into hell. We didn’t know who would be next. We could only rely on God,” he said.
He is echoed by another young street child named Prosper: “We live in fear of being attacked because of the brutal killings and since then we sleep in groups to protect ourselves. He [Ndlovu] should stay in prison and not come out because we are so afraid.”
Meanwhile, George Kandiero, chairman of the National Association of Traditional Healers of Zimbabwe, suggested that Ndlovu may have killed for ritual purposes.
“It could be a result of madness or he was convinced that he would get some kind of power from it [eating human flesh]. It’s definitely on the dark side, and it’s something that isn’t clear.
