Nearly a month after the murder of Sahala Fanekena, a girl living in Ampefiloha Ambodirano, four individuals have been remanded in custody. Evidence has been sealed. A woman and three men have been placed in preventive detention as part of the investigation into the murder of Sahala Fanekena Rahanitraharivony, 12 years old, the Justice Ministry announced Saturday. L., F., C. and E. were presented to the investigating judge before being imprisoned, the men at Tsiafahy and the woman at Antanimora. According to the statement, some have admitted their involvement, claiming the child had been sacrificed. Searches conducted led to the seizure of charms, various objects and a notebook containing instructions related to witchcraft practices, with specific mentions such as "a red rooster must be sacrificed" or notes simply stating "a sacrifice is needed." These elements strengthen the theory of a prepared and organized ritual, according to the ministry.
On a hillside
The tragedy caused strong emotion in Ampefiloha Ambodirano. On June 29, Sahala disappeared after going out to buy bread. Her father, Clermont Ranaivomanana, a security officer, says he searched for her relentlessly, going through neighborhoods, questioning merchants, searching alleys and riverbanks, alerting the fokontany and police, and posting a missing person notice on social media. "I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, I only thought about finding my daughter," he says. The next day, late afternoon, accompanied by his brother and relatives, he discovers the child's body on a hill in Bongatsara. The girl lay on her right side, her face swollen, wearing only underwear. "She had been killed elsewhere and left there, there was no blood around," her father says.
At home, her mother, Bakoliarisoa Hasinarivony, informed by phone, collapsed. "I couldn't believe it, I went mad. We have no conflict with anyone. Sahala had no problems with the neighbors," she says. According to initial findings by the doctor sent to the scene, the girl had been killed approximately twelve hours before her body was discovered. The remains, returned to the family after standard procedures, were buried in Antsirabe.