Two bodies exhumed after Vhukovhela members point out graves

By Kaizer Nengovhela

The bodies of a man and a woman were exhumed at different locations at Gogobole and Rathidili (Tshikhwani) in the Sinthumule area on Sunday, 29 January, after five members of the Western Vhukovhela security unit, who were arrested for terrorising the local communities, had allegedly confessed to killing these people and pointed out to the police the sites where they had buried their victims in shallow graves.

According to police spokes- person Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, the woman (33) allegedly went missing in February 2022, after she had left her home in Sekonye village in Botlokwa for Louis Trichardt. The man was reported missing in July that same year.

“Investigations revealed that the woman was actually kidnapped, allegedly by the suspects, who tortured and killed her, [and] then buried her in a shallow grave. This after she allegedly refused to surrender a property in Louis Trichardt, which was initially used as a brothel,” said Mojapelo.

The 40-year-old man fell victim to vigilantism when he was reportedly kidnapped from his home in Madombidzha Zone 4 after he was accused of stealing copper cables.

The Vhukovhela members were arrested during a multidisciplinary, intelligence-driven operation by the Vhembe Trio Task team, the Makhado CI and the Beitbridge Task Team between 26 and 28 October last year, and were charged with kidnapping, assault and attempted murder.

Gogobole farmer discovers hand at site where bodies were dumped

By Kaizer Nengovhela

A farmer from Gogobole was shell-shocked when he discovered human bones on his farm on Monday (30 January) that were left behind by the police after they had exhumed the body of a man that had been murdered and buried in a shallow grave on the farm.

Parents step in to resolve the fights among learners at Masiza High

By Thembi Siaga

Parents of pupils at Masiza High School and community leaders held a meeting on 23 January to express their displeasure to the school management after a video had gone viral on social media (Facebook) in which a group of the school’s learners violently attacked a fellow learner with a sjambok.

The concerned parents blamed the school management for not doing enough to resolve the issue of gangsterism at the school. In a previous incident, one learner was stabbed in the hand, after which his parents had opened a case of assault at the Waterval Police Station.

The most recent fight, which apparently started inside the school premises on 17 January, was between 18 boys from three gangs, called Trouble 13, Bad Coming Company and the Rough 8 team. The following day, another fight erupted approximately 500 metres away from the school premises.

During the meeting, some of the parents suggested that the learners who were fighting be expelled from school, while others did not want to take the matter that far.

The chairperson of the school governing body (SGB), Mr Patrick Mashimbye, said they had not known that the school was facing issues with gangsterism.

“The school principal did not inform us about this problem at the school. It came as a surprise to us when parents reported to us. The gang members were invited to the meeting, and they said that the fight started during the December holidays; they were apparently fighting over a girl, which continued when school started,” Mashimbye said.

“The parents never gave us a chance to investigate this issue, now they claim that we are not doing our job. The school doesn’t have security personnel, we only have general workers to guard the school. Those learners entered the school premises with sjamboks and knives hidden inside their school bags,” he said.

One of the deputy chairpersons of the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters), Lucky Nkuna, said the learners involved in the fighting had apologised.

“The boys were granted a chance to continue learning, because they showed remorse and promised to never cause fights again. And if they do, they will be expelling themselves,” he said. According to the police spokesperson, W/O Foster Rambau, some of the learners were charged with unlawful wounding/GBH (grievous bodily harm). “However, the case is still under investigation as there are more learners who were involved,” he said.

Five of the suspects involved in the Western Vhukovhela Protection Unit (Tshisole) case allegedly pointed out a shallow grave where they had buried the body and some of the bones of a man they had burned and killed. The man is believed to be someone who was reported missing in July last year. The police exhumed the human remains on Sunday, 29 January.

The next day, the farmer, Mr Reuben Musefuwa, discovered the bones of a human hand that were left behind. This, he believes, might have been negli- gence by the police and forensic officers. “I went to the spot with some of my farm workers to examine the bones. These bones do not deserve to be in public view for such a long time, and people might think that I killed someone here,” he said.

According to the spokesperson for the Makhado police, Sgt Irene Radzilani, they were notified by the farm owner about the human remains on Tuesday (31st), and went out to collect the bones, which were scattered on the ground. The bones were then taken for forensic investigations and for DNA tests to be conducted.

The chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum (ZCDF), Mr Patrick Sikhutshi, said that the Western Vhukovhela Protection Unit had been terrorising the community under the Tshilwavhusiku SAPS’s noses for far too long. He said the ZCDF was convinced that the deaths could have been avoided if they had had proactive police services. He said serious allegations were being made that police officials at the station were afraid of these thugs and connived with them.

“We demand a thorough investigation into this matter. The ZCDF maintains its position presented to the police minister that the officers at the station should be fired. The criminals did not operate secretly. They did many of their activities openly, in collaboration with traditional leaders, who benefited 10% from collections imposed on communities. Churches, political and civil organizations, the academics, councillors and MPs all knew about this, but decided to go into hiding. They could not expose these heinous crimes because they feared for their lives, but still they call themselves community leaders,” he said.