Elifasi Msomi a.k.a. The Axe Killer (1910 – 10 February 1956) was a South African
serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
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*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
who was convicted in 1955 of 15 murders and sentenced to
death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
by
hanging
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
. His victims all came from the
Umkomaas and
Umzimkulu valleys of
Natal.
Background
A
Zulu man, Msomi was an unsuccessful young
sangoma (
shaman
Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
). Seeking professional assistance, he consulted with another sangoma. Msomi claims that during this exchange he was co-opted by an evil spirit, a
tokoloshe
In Zulu mythology, Nguni mythology, the tokoloshe, tikoloshe, tikolosh, tonkolosh, tonkolosi, tokolotshe, thokolosi, or hili is a dwarf (mythology), dwarf-like water spirit. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by dr ...
. In August 1953, under the instruction of the tokoloshe, Msomi began an 18-month killing spree in the southern
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
valleys of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Crimes
Msomi initially raped and murdered a young woman in the presence of his mistress, keeping her blood in a bottle. Unimpressed with his 'new' powers, his mistress alerted the police who arrested Msomi. He escaped shortly afterwards, giving credit for his escape to the all-powerful tokoloshe.
Msomi returned to his murderous ways, killing five children before being re-arrested. He duly escaped again. Msomi was arrested a month later for petty theft. The stolen items turned out to belong to his victims and he was soon identified as the murderous culprit.
Msomi readily assisted the police in finding some of his victims' remains including a missing skull.
Whether he gained further satisfaction from revisiting his crime scenes or felt
diminished responsibility in light of the tokoloshe's influence is unclear. During his trial, Msomi claimed that he was merely a conduit for the evil tokoloshe.
Two psychologists disagreed, stating that Msomi was in fact of much higher than average intelligence and further that he derived sexual pleasure from inflicting pain.
Msomi was sentenced to death by hanging at Pretoria Central Prison.
Superstition
However, Msomi's reference to the tokoloshe and his numerous escapes had caused a high level of consternation amongst some of the
Zulu community. Upon request, the judge permitted a deputation of nine Zulu chiefs and elders to attend the hanging in order to confirm that the tokoloshe did in fact not save Msomi from his death.
Even so, one chief felt that Msomi might return after death as a tokoloshe himself.
See also
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List of serial killers in South Africa
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List of serial killers by number of victims
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, in two or more separate events over a period of time, for primarily psychological reasons.''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying'' entry o"Serial Killers" (2003) by Sa ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Msomi, Elifasi
Axe murder
1910 births
1956 deaths
20th-century executions by South Africa
Crimes involving Satanism or the occult
Escapees from South African detention
Executed South African serial killers
People convicted of murder by South Africa
People executed by South Africa by hanging
South African escapees
Zulu people