A pastor and 2 other women were arrested by the police in connection with the deaths of 2 nine-year-old girls that were beaten to death during an exorcism.

The death of the 2 children reportedly happened in Ezinambeni, which is located outside Nakandla, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Colonel Thembeka Mbele, the spokesperson of the police, said that they got an anonymous call informing them that something sinister was happening at a house in the local area.

Colonel Mblele said:

Upon arrival, the police were greeted with hostility by the family members who did not want their presence and asked who had called them. After a barrage of questions from the family members, police encountered a very gruesome scene.

They found out that the 2 girls were on the floor and had bruises throughout their bodies.

One had died when the police came and the other one was unconscious.

After discovering the girls, the police informed the paramedics right away so the kids can get treatment.

Mbele said that the relatives of the 2 girls said that they were attacked by an evil spirit.

Mbele added:

The family further alleged that the young girls had been complaining that the evil spirit was beating them up and instructing them to drink blood. In response to the girls’ attack by the evil spirits, the family also allegedly beat up the girls as a form of exorcism.

A local pastor, who was called to pray for the 2 girls, beat them, confirmed the police.

The police continued:

Prior to the arrival of the police the family had taken the deceased girl to a traditional healer after beating her. The traditional healer could not do anything for her because she was already deceased and he brought back the body to the family.

A couple of days later, the second kid died after contracting the deadly disease.

Initially, an inquest was opened but further investigations revealed that the girls died from severe beatings.