Nearly a month after the murder of Sahala Fanekena, a young girl from Ampefiloha Ambodirano, four individuals have been imprisoned.
New developments have emerged. The Ministry of Justice announced on Saturday that one woman and three men have been placed in pre-trial detention as part of the investigation into the murder of 12-year-old Sahala Fanekena Rahanitraharivony.
The suspects, identified as L., F., C., and E., were brought before an investigating judge before being incarcerated—the men at Tsiafahy and the woman at Antanimora. According to the statement, some have confessed to their involvement, claiming the child was sacrificed.
Searches conducted by authorities led to the seizure of amulets (gris-gris), various objects, and a notebook containing instructions related to witchcraft practices, with specific mentions such as “a sacrifice is needed: a red rooster” or notes simply stating “a sacrifice is needed.” According to the ministry, these elements reinforce the theory of a premeditated and organized ritual.
The tragedy had sparked intense emotion in Ampefiloha Ambodirano. On June 29, Sahala disappeared after going out to buy bread. Her father, Clermont Ranaivomanana, a security guard, stated he searched for her tirelessly, scouring neighborhoods, questioning merchants, searching alleys and riverbanks, alerting the local 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 confided. The next day, in the late afternoon, accompanied by his brother and relatives, he discovered the child’s body on a hill in Bongatsara. The girl was lying on her right side, her face bruised, wearing only underwear. “She had been killed elsewhere and placed there; there was no trace of blood around,” the father asserted.
At home, her mother, Bakoliarisoa Hasinarivony, who was notified by phone, collapsed. “I couldn’t believe it, I became like a madwoman. We have no conflict with anyone. Sahala had no problems with the neighborhood,” she said.
According to initial findings by the doctor dispatched 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.
Captured & Published at: 2026-07-27 05:54:09 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/07/meurtre-de-sahala-les-suspects-avouent.html