Mandela helps in torso boy case

Nelson Mandela is to make an unprecedented appeal to help identify an African boy whose torso was found in the Thames, Scotland Yard said today.

Detectives have enlisted the help of the former South African president to speak to the people of Africa in an effort to trace the boy's family.

Officers believe the victim, whose severed body was found near the Globe Theatre, was sacrificed in a ritualistic killing.

Commander Andy Baker and Detective Inspector Will O'Reilly, leading the investigation, will travel to South Africa on Sunday. They will have a series of meetings with experts on "muti" and voodoo killings including academics, doctors, spiritualists and witch doctors.

It is the first time Mr Mandela has been asked to help with a crime committed in Britain, and he will make his appeal next Friday.

Mr O'Reilly said today: "Mr Mandela is one of the most influential men in Africa and we hope people will listen to his appeal. It could well be that the boy's parents do not know he is dead because news from Britain is unlikely to have reached them. Hopefully this will help."

The boy, who officers have called Adam, was apparently butchered by spiritualist cults operating in London.

Detectives believe he was killed in Britain, and more than likely London, although he is believed to come from west Africa, possibly Nigeria, Ghana or the Ivory Coast.

Officers believe he was the victim of witchcraft prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Victims are killed for their body parts which are then used in medicines to bring prosperity, vitality and good fortune.

The torso, spotted floating in the Thames on 21 September by a man walking across Tower Bridge, had been in the water for between one and 10 days. Scientists are carrying out a series of ground-breaking tests to pinpoint the area where Adam lived. Isotope analysis is examining the elements found in the bone structure of the skeleton.

The hydrogen, sulphur, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen present reflect the area where somebody is from. Parasites and pollen found in the intestines are also being examined which will help establish the botany of the country Adam was from.

The torso was in a pair of girl's orange shorts labelled Kids and Company, Woolworth's own brand in Germany. Anyone with information should call 020 8853 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.