ON TUESDAY the mutilated body of an unknown man was found lying in the bush.
Nobody knew who he was until Friday, when another shocking discovery was made.
THE BODY OF THE DEAD MAN HAD BEEN STOLEN FROM HIS GRAVE IN THE CEMETERY!
A family which went to the local cemetery to perform rituals saw that the grave of Thomas Mangena (50) was empty, except for pieces of coffin in the hole.
Mangena was buried in April this year.
According to police, the body is missing the hands, legs, tongue and teeth. The unknown suspects allegedly stole the body from the grave and went to the nearby bush to cut off the body parts.
The body was discovered by a passerby two kilometers away from the graveyard.
The community thought the body belonged to someone who had been murdered and called the police. The cops collected the body and started an investigation.
Corny Mangena (34) of the Mangena family in GaMasoma Village, outside Tzaneen, Limpopo said when they heard that a body had been found they called their family members and checked to see if everyone was fine.
“We never suspected it could be our uncle,” she said.
She said they were notified by the family who discovered the violated grave.
“We were shocked that it was him. I saw his body at a mortuary after it was collected by the police from the bush,” said Corny.
“When he died in April we mourned and accepted his death, but now his body has been stolen and violated.
“We are struggling,” she said.
Councillor Elias Malatji said they have formed a task team which will be meeting the Lenyenye police station commander.
“We want the police dog unit to come here and search this area. We believe there may be other bodies stolen from the graves,” he said.
Community headman Lucky Mametja encouraged residents to check family graves to make sure they were in order.
“Bodies may have been stolen years ago. Those who have suspicions must call the police so their graves can be checked,” said Mametja.
“We have read about such stories in newspapers but never thought that one day it would happen in our own village.”
Limpopo police spokesman Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the motive behind the violation of the grave is not yet known but ritual activity can’t be ruled out.
Ngoepe warned anybody involved in this type of activity that they will be hunted down and will have to face the law.
“No one has been arrested. Anyone with information which may help the police must please contact Colonel Cecil Machimana at 082 451 7181 or report at a nearby police station.
“The police investigations continue,” Colonel Ngoepe said.