Two gruesome finds
The bodies of two murdered men were found in the Carletonville area during the past week.
On Friday, a man was herding cattle between Carletonville and Doornfontein. He was busy in the area near Merafong Crushers, near the old Blyvooruitzicht 2 Shaft, at approximately 15:30. He walked into a dilapidated structure and came across the burnt body of a man. According to the police, it had been there for over a week and was so charred that neither the victim’s features nor his clothes were
recognisable. The police are looking for more information about this incident. Anyone who might know something should call the investigating officer, Sgt Thabo Kharejane of the Carletonville Detectives, at 081 497 5599.
Meanwhile, residents of Rooipoort were walking in the veld near Plot 91 in the Wonderfonteinspruit area on Sunday. They suddenly came across the body of an African man at about 15:30, with his hands tied behind his back.
During the past few years, the bodies of several dead people, mostly men, have been found in the Carletonville area. Most lay next to roads, especially the R501. The bodies were mostly dumped in the Doornfontein and Deelkraal area and closer to Sibanye-
Stillwater’s mining activities further east.
Although most of these murders were linked to illegal mining activities in the area, it is unclear whether this applies to the two murders this week.
Murders and kidnappings, where someone is taken by force for a ransom, and abductions, where someone is taken without a ransom demand, have increased in our area during the past few years.
Despite this, Carletonville is not even in the top 30 policing areas for these cases, according to the latest SAPS statistics.
There were 5,760 murders between April 2021 and March 2022. Most happened in KwaZulu-Natal, with Umlazi near Durban being “South Africa’s murder capital”. The other murder hotspot in the country is the Western Cape, particularly areas like Kraaifontein.
The SAPS also reported 10,826 kidnappings during the same time. Gauteng had the highest number of kidnapping cases, with 4,495 from 2021 to 2022, up 149 per cent from the previous year.
Although Carletonville was not within the top 30 policing areas regarding this crime, our neighbour, Randfontein, had the fourth most kidnappings in the country.
