Unidentified body found
Remains of an unidentified body were found near Mambiteng River between Ga Motibidi and Dwarsloop on Tuesday, the 21st of May 2019.
It is said that two elderly members of the community were searching for wood in the nearby veld when they came across the skeleton, and immediately went on to report the matter to the police. According to Constable Mmonwa from the Bushbuckridge SAPS, an investigation into the death of the person is currently underway.
The residents expressed their shock regarding the matter as they say no person had been reported missing in the nearby communities in a long while. They further said they believed the person may have been killed elsewhere and dumped there.
The constable says they cannot confirm whether the person may have been killed and dumped there or killed right on the spot or even whether the person died a natural death or not. It is believed that a similar missing person’s case had been filed in Sgodi Phola near Bushbuckridge recently, although it could not be confirmed whether the remains could be linked to the missing person’s case or not.
Residents say although they couldn’t even smell a stench of the decaying body coming out of the bush, they would usually see vulture-like birds in the nearby river and surrounding areas without paying much attention. The forensics also confirmed that the body may have been eaten up by the birds of prey during the period.
It is estimated that the person may have died over 2-3 weeks ago. The police have further called onto communities to come forward with any information which may be relevant in identifying the dead man or his family.
Motorists struggle to drive during rainy seasons
A sigh of victory came as a relief to the community of Ga Motibidi as they marched in peace to meet with the MEC for Public Works, Roads & Transport, Mr Gillion Mashego on Monday, the 25th of February 2019 on the R40 main road in Dwarsloop next to Ga Relane village.
The meeting follows numerous attempts by the community to get clarity on the tar road construction project, for which there was confusion about when it would commence, which eventually led to a violent protest in the past few weeks.
According to the previous response by the department, the tar road construction was supposed to resume in the third quarter of the 2019/20 budget, subject to approval by the Operational Plan by Provincial Treasury and Executive Council. However, there has been a different response altogether by the MEC during the meeting.
In his response, MEC Mashego said that he will see to it that the contractor is appointed by Thursday, the 28th, and that the construction should resume within the next few weeks.
“We marched to the tar road peacefully earlier today and waited for the MEC’s arrival, and when he arrived, he delivered the good news,” Terrence Monareng, one of the community members said.