The family of an 11-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found in a dam suspects she was murdered for ritual purposes.

Tiyiselani Rikhotso from Ndengeza village, about 40km west of Giyani in Limpopo, was reported missing on Sunday and her body was found on Tuesday in the Klein Letaba Dam.

Her discovery was preceded by a protest by the community, who went on a rampage, blockading roads.

Tiyiselani's grandmother Christina Rikhotso, 59, said she suspected Tiyiselani was hacked with a panga as she had several open and deep wounds on her body.

"I saw those wounds on her body and they were very scary. Her right leg was chopped and still missing as we speak.

"I think she was killed elsewhere and thrown into the dam.

"If her murder is not for muthi, what will one do with a child's leg?"

Rikhotso said Tiyiselani was found in the dam after some children tipped off community members that they saw her in the company of an unknown man.

"On our way to the dam, we found her doek and we became convinced she was thrown in there," she said.