THE SEARCH for seven-year-old Philasande brought the family no closer to finding the missing boy.
Then an SMS with a brutal message sent them to a secluded spot in the bushes.
“GO THERE. THERE YOU WILL FIND YOUR CHILD’S HEAD AND LEG!” READ THE SMS.
Philasande Shange’s family went with the police to the spot in the bushes 15 minutes away from his home in the Ntshawini area next to KwaDukuza in KZN and made the gruesome discovery.
As the message had said, they found the boy’s head and leg in the bushes.
Philasande went missing on Thursday and the search for him was unsuccessful.
Then on Sunday they received the anonymous SMS telling them the location.
The SMS said the other parts of the boy’s body will be sold in Mozambique.
The SMS told them to leave the area, claiming there were people who were not happy about them and Philasande was killed to teach them a lesson.
Daily Sun saw the SMSs but the family refused to share it. The family was told that the SIM card was going to be destroyed after the messages. The phone number used was turned off.
Philasande’s aunt Ntombithini Shange said the boy was going to grade 2 this year.
“At least we now know the boy is dead. We are still hoping the police will discover other missing body parts,” she said.
“We can’t bury only a head and a leg.”
She said they don’t know why they are hated because they are not rich.
“We survived a petrol bomb attack last year,” she said.
“We never fought with anybody in the area but we are hearing that other people want us to leave. We will not do that.”
She said those who have a problem with them must come to them.
You must be SIGNED IN to read comments
“They must not torture us by trying to kill us or killing an innocent boy like Philasande,” she said.
KwaDukuza police spokesman Constable Siphesihle Myeni confirmed the incident and said a case of murder had been opened for further investigation.
“It is believed the boy was playing with his friends when he disappeared. We don’t have further information about the incident at this time,” said Myeni.
“Parents reported the missing child at KwaDukuza SAPS Police Station on Sunday after receiving an SMS with information about where the child could be found.”
