Suspected murder at dumpsite

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
THE scarred body of a 25-year-old man has been found at a dump site in Plumtree, police said. The police are treating the case as suspected murder. They identified the deceased as Bongani Ncube, who lived with a disability and stayed in the Lake View area.

Ncube’s body was reportedly found hidden in a pit by a council employee who works at the dump site on Monday morning.

Phindile Moyo, a relative that he stayed with, said Ncube’s body was wrapped in a pink blanket and covered with rubbish.

She said she had last seen him alive on Sunday afternoon.

“I last saw Bongani on Sunday because he used to spend some of his nights at a friend’s house. He passed by my house and indicated that he was heading to the bottle store and that was the last I heard from him. I assumed that he spent the night with friends.

“I saw the police arriving at my homestead on Monday morning telling me that his body had been found at the dump site. His body was stashed in a pit and he was covered with a blanket which could have made it impossible for him to be discovered,” said Moyo.

She said Ncube, who had a limp, had some scars on his cheek and blood was coming out of his eye.

Moyo said the family suspected that their relative had been killed and his body left at the dumpsite beneath rubble so that he would not be discovered.

She said Ncube made his earnings through performing odd jobs but he also had a tendency of robbing people.

Moyo said she did not know the reason why Ncube was killed.

She said he had been staying with friends for the past month.

“He was staying with us all along but recently he was spending some nights at a friend’s house but I don’t know where. He would, however, come to my house almost on a daily basis for his meals.

“Maybe he got into some trouble as he was in the habit of robbing people and getting involved in shady deals or he might have picked up a fight with his friends. We hope police investigations will give us answers,” Moyo said.

She said Ncube’s immediate family was in Embakwe area in Mangwe and he had moved to Plumtree to seek employment.

The councillor for Mathendele area, Cornelius Nyathi said the body was discovered at the dumpsite which is in a bushy area close to his area of jurisdiction.

He said residents had been left wondering what had caused the death of the young man.

Nyathi said Ncube was reported to have been last seen on Sunday evening after he left a bottle store heading home.

Matabeleland South acting provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant Thabani Mkhwananzi confirmed that there was a body discovered at a dump site in Plumtree.

He said investigations were underway to ascertain the cause of the death.