“Watch out when you walk alone on cold nights in the Karoo. A notorious “shapeshifter” has been spotted in the Eastern Cape town of Steytlerville and is striking fear into the hearts and minds of residents in neighbouring Klipplaat and Willowmore, too.” – News24, 2 July 2011
“Bawokazi” (Xhosa for father’s brother), as the shape-shifting monster is known, is either a human wearing a white jacket and black pants, a “shockingly ugly” creature or a black dog, according to Steytlerville residents. Local police have even opened a “file” against Bawokazi and encouraged those who sighted Bawokazi to take photographs. The police have received reports of Bawokazi sightings in Klipplaat and Willowmore, and one officer swore he heard strange noises from livestock every night, a sign the shape-shifter was moving about.
A local resident once heard an unusual commotion outside his home. He hastily put together a double-edged sword to fight Bawokazi, despite his family pleading with him in vain to stop his one-on-one assault on the shape-shifter. He climbed a small koppie near his home with a pair of binoculars and his makeshift sword. He approached the figure, which did not back down. After confronting it, the monster shape-shifted, became a black dog with white legs and ran away. The community’s lights went out as he fled past their houses.
