Roasted like a lamb!

The community of Tshishushuru, Dzwerani and neighbouring villages outside Vuwani had a rude awakening last Wednesday, when a badly burnt body was found at a dumping site. The deceased was later identified as Pte Semoni Sankotsane (51), a soldier attached to 15SAI Battalion in Vuwani.

He was found around 08:00 by a construction worker. The place where the body was found is a known "brothel spot" where cars with "lovers" can be seen on a daily basis.

The scene where the body was found, however, showed signs of a struggle. Within a short space of time, people flocked from the neighbouring villages of Dzwerani, Mahematshena and Tshifulanani to have a glimpse of the burnt man but were prevented from doing so as crime scene experts had cordoned off the area.

According to the deceased's wife, Ms Seani Ramahana, her husband left for work on Tuesday and that was the last time he was seen alive. “When I came back from work at 17:00, he was not back and I did not suspect anything. I became worried when he was not back at 21:00. I phoned both his phones, but they were off," she said.

She further indicated that she alerted the family about the fact that he was missing and opened a missing person's file with the police on Thursday. She was later informed that a body had been found at a dumping site nearby.

"the police took me to the mortuary, where I identified him through the watch he was wearing. It was a shocking experience for me. I have never come close to a dead body, but circumstances forced me to do so, and what I saw was shocking - a person roasted like a piece of meat by another human being,” she said.

She added that the whole incident was like a bad dream to her. “I have lost a good man who cared for the whole family and we had dreams of a big family together. I will miss him dearly,” she said.

Cllr Thomani Thabela, one of the first to arrive at the scene, said they were alerted to the incident by a truck driver who was collecting sand at the area. “What we saw was sickening. A person roasted like a lamb for a feast. I have never seen this form of cruelty in my life,” he said.

He said it was not the first incident of this kind to happen in the area. "Some years back, a local man was found burnt and squeezed into a cave; since then, there have been so many crimes in this area."

Civic leader Musiwalo Nemataheni said there was a need for the police to patrol the area. “We have experienced an upsurge in crimes such as robberies, muggings, rapes and housebreakings in this area over a period of time."

Vuwani police spokesperson W/O Elijar Malatjie said that the circumstances leading to Sankotsane's death would only be known when investigations were completed. "We suspect that the man might have been murdered somewhere else and dumped at the area by the killer or killers. We are making an appeal to the public out there to assist us with information that could lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrators. Someone, somewhere might have witnessed this gruesome incident. Please help us!” he said.

Date:19 September 2014

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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