KIEPERSOL – The mutilated body of a man was found in a dam on a banana plantation on Saturday.
According to several employees of the farm, the man went missing on September 10 after he was seen fleeing from a colleague who was beating him up, accusing him of stealing his money.
“When the man returned after four hours, he said that the other had fled and he did not know where he was.”
One of the employees, Mr Collen Gazide stated that after a few days he alerted the man’s family who reported the matter to Hazyview police.
Gazide said he has since been fired from work after he gave the police information which led to the discovery of the body.
“Before the victim disappeared, he was badly beaten and I don’t think he had any knowledge of the money he was accused of stealing because the way he was assaulted, he would have come clean during the beatings.”
Several employees, mostly Zimbabweans, have disclosed to Mpumalanga News they were living in fear of the supervisors and the farmers at Kiepersol because of previous workers who had disappeared after they were suspected of stealing.
“What happened here is a mystery and we do not know what will happen to us.
We can’t just stop working because we need money to look after our families, but we know we are at risk here,” added another employee.
Police have confirmed the incident and will give more information later.
