Decomposed body of man found at Madabani

The decomposed body of an unknown man was found in the bushes at Madabani, in the Sinthumule area, on Thursday, 7 December. Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said that the deceased, suspected to be in his thirties, had been discovered by passersby, who had alerted the community. The body was taken to the government mortuary at Elim Hospital for a post-mortem.

“The police are currently trying to locate the relatives of the deceased, who is still unknown. We are appealing to members of the community with missing relatives to go to the Tshilwavhusiku Police Station to identify the body. We are also urging community members who might have evidence that can lead to the arrest of the culprits to come forward,” Mashaba said.

Mr Daniel Muthenge, one of the men who found the body, said he and his friend were taking a shortcut through the bushes on their way home when they noticed a strange object that looked like a person lying underneath a tree. “Upon closer examination, we saw that the object was covered with flies, indicating that whatever it was must have been in a state of decomposition. We got the shock of our lives when we realised that it was, in fact, a real person, who must have been lying there for some time. I have never come across anything like this before in my life. It was very shocking. It is going to take a long time for me to forget that image,” he said.

The area where the body was found is surrounded by dense bushes, and the locals said they were surprised that anyone could end up there on his own. This has raised suspicions that the man might have been killed somewhere else and dumped in the bushes to conceal the evidence.

The ward councillor, Muhali Magwala, said he was greatly disturbed by the incident. “I don’t know what is happening in my ward. This is the first time something like this has happened in our area. Why our ward and village? This is heartbreaking.” Magwala urged the community members to stand united and work together in fighting crime, and to help the police in solving the case.

Date:14 December 2023

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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