Mandela appeals over torso case

Nelson Mandela today made an impassioned worldwide appeal to help trace the perpetrators of one of London's most sinister child murders.

Two senior London detectives have immersed themselvesin African witchcraft in an attempt to unlock the secrets of how a young boy's torso came to be floating in the River Thames.

Commander Andy Baker and Detective Inspector Will O'Reilly flew 7,000 miles from Scotland Yard to South Africa, the only country with an occult murder unit, after the headless, limbless torso of a black boy aged between four and seven was found floating near the Globe Theatre on 21 September last year.

The boy, who has been given the name "Adam" by the investigating team, is thought to be the victim of London's first "muti" or voodoo murder. They have spent hours picking through piles of monkey skulls, baboon hands and scaly lizard tails, and consulting witchcraft experts in a desperate search for clues.

And today Nelson Mandela called on anyone with information to come forward to help British detectives identify the youngster.

"Scotland Yard has appealed to us to add our voice to ask those people around the world to come forward with any information that could help identify the young murder victim and trace the perpetrators of this horrific crime," he said.

Witchcraft and black magic is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Each year hundreds of people - mostly children - become victims of human sacrifices at the hands of African witchdoctors or their followers, and their body parts are used for muti or black magic.

"This type of crime is entirely beyond our experience - it is unique in Britain," DI O'Reilly said during the week-long visit to Pretoria and Johannesburg. "We have come here not because we think Adam came from South Africa, but because this is where the experts are who can help us understand this culture and belief system."

The London officers are tapping into the South African occult unit's network of experts, witchdoctors and traditional healers to learn more about the traditional beliefs which could have motivated Adam's murder.

Post mortem results showed Adam died from massive blood loss after having his throat cut. His limbs and head were removed after death and have never been found. Officers say he had been in the river for between one and 10 days when he was spotted by a man walking over Tower Bridge.

Credo Mutwa, one of South Africa's leading sangomas - or traditional healers - was one of the first spiritual leaders the men visited. His modest home, 20 miles outside Johannesburg, was filled with candles, medicinal plants and small statues. He sat at a large table with the London officers and his voice became hoarse with anger as he studied photographs of the boy's tiny torso.

Dressed in floor-length robes and his head draped in cloth, Mr Mutwa offered the detectives a shocking interpretation of the boy's killing.

He said the killers would have drunk the boy's blood after his death, using a "skullcap" cut from the severed head.

"His finger joints would have been used as charms or ground into a paste for part of a ritual in order to give these criminals strength. I think this is a human sacrifice to some sort of water deity carried out by a gang of people strengthening themselves to do some very ugly crimes. They have made this sacrifice because they are filled with fear for what they have done or what they are going to do," he added.

Mr Mutwa said the killers were followers of "obeh" - a west African form of witchcraft - who practice "the horriblest form of human sacrifice usually on a child who has not yet reached puberty".

He added: "I suggest you look in west Africa, from Nigeria onwards for where these people are from." He said the orange shorts which the child was dressed in after his death "signified a resurrection" and concluded a close member of the boy's family would have been involved in his sacrifice.

After the meeting, Cdr Baker said: "It was very useful to spend time with Mr Mutwa, he has given us a valuable insight and has also provided us with some names of other traditional healers we could speak to in west Africa."

A tour of a "muti" or medicine market in downtown Johannesburg provided the officers with an idea of the significance of traditional medicine and witchcraft in sub-Saharan African life.

Tables spilled over with decaying animal parts and jars of congealing fat. The men from the Met mingled with regular "muti" customers. Stall holders appeared evasive about the medicinal properties of their wares, insisting only that it was "powerful" stuff, guaranteed to cure all ills.

The traders were clearly uneasy to see South African officers attached to the occult unit, who had accompanied their London colleagues, scrutinising the malodorous piles.

"You could probably get human body parts down here if you knew what to ask for and how to ask for it," said Captain Lynne Evans from the Pretoria-based unit.

Meanwhile, scientists in the UK are using several groundbreaking techniques to pinpoint Adam's home country. They believe he comes from west Africa, possibly Nigeria, Ghana or the Ivory Coast.

By analysing elements found in the body's bone structure - nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur content, for example - and pollen and parasite samples extracted from the gut, experts are confident of being able to identify the boy's home to within the nearest mile. Fluoride in the skeleton is also being examined which will give similar results.

Forensic Science Service experts are also using DNA techniques to try to find the history of the victim's ancestors and are also studying the DNA "molecule of life" which can help determine such things as hair colour and may help build up a picture of Adam.

Detectives initially believed seven half-burned candles wrapped in a white sheet and found near Battersea Power Station could hold the key to the murder but this has now been ruled out.

The name "Adekoyejo Fola Adoye" was written on the sheet and carved into the candles. However, detectives found out Mr Adoye lives in New York and discovered that his parents, who live in London, had performed a ceremony to celebrate the fact he was not killed in the 11 September attacks.

Officers have since recovered about six similar sheets and candles thrown into the river but none are being linked to the death of Adam. Nevertheless, police have been surprised that ritualistic ceremonies carried out by religious groups in London take place on the banks of the Thames.

Scotland Yard has offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer of Adam.