Corpse found with no feet, teeth

Uzile Mkwananzi, Sunday News Reporter

A Sizinda family in Bulawayo is seeking answers on circumstances leading to the death of their relative who was found naked, with his feet and part of his teeth missing after weeks of being reported missing.

The now deceased, Mr Shadreck Moyo (76), who resided in Sizinda suburb was found dead in Bhule 2 village, Tsholotsho on 5 January 2024, this was after he had been reported missing since 26 December last year.

The body was found with no feet and teeth by a member of the community who was tending to his cattle in the bushes.
Speaking to Sunday News, Mr Ntokozo Moyo, brother to the deceased, said the issue was haunting them as a family as they were left desperately seeking answers on what transpired leading to the death of his brother.

“Whatever happened to my brother seems to have been something terrible, I believe his soul is not resting and will not rest till we find what really happened to him, hence I will not rest until we find the answers that we so desperately deserve as a family,” said Mr Moyo.

Mr Moyo, said they discovered that his brother was missing on 26 December 2023, after his other younger brother, Mr Zenzo Moyo, informed them that he was missing from his home in Sizinda.

They were informed that the now deceased’s wife, Mrs Paenda Moyo who lives in Tsholotsho and the other brother, Mr Moses Moyo who lives in   Esigodini, where the deceased usually visited, said they had not seen or heard from him.

Mr Moyo, revealed that after desperately searching for his brother, with several people claiming they had either interacted or seen him at some point, none of them knew of his whereabouts until 5 January when his body was found by a member of the community in Tsholotsho, who then informed the family.

“On 5 January 2024, my younger brother called informing me that he had picked information that there was a body that had been found in Tsholotsho, Bhule 2 bush area, so he was travelling to Tsholotsho to see it.

On the same day, Zenzo phoned again and confirmed that the identified body was that of our brother Shadreck, revealing that the body surprisingly had no feet and teeth.

“What surprised us the most is the fact that the Tsholotsho police told us that the post-tmortem was going to be a strenuous and long process and if done, it was going to take about three months.

As I was in the process of acquiring the burial order, my brother’s wife said we were delaying getting the document and she then sent us the burial order that we were working on. We went on and buried him on 10 January but our questions were and are still unanswered,” said Mr Moyo.

He said all they want as a family was closure on what really happened to their brother.

“We are looking for answers, where was he from December up to 5 January when he was found dead and his remains decomposed? We want to know what really happened, how did his life end? Was he killed or was it just a natural death and we will not rest till we know what really happened to him,” he said.