Severed body found in freezer

DAANTJIE – Mr Mandisa Favourite Mashaba (20) was arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of a 63-year-old Mozambican whose body parts were found in plastic bags inside a fridge.

The victim’s cleaned heart and liver were found in a plastic bag inside the fridge while his head, ribs and arms were also found in separate bags.

The incident apparently occurred last Wednesday at the Yehla Ngilozi Elderly Care Centre where the victim used to receive his daily meals, and, due to poverty, called the centre his second home.

Three women who had gone to the premises to clean in preparation of their Thursday prayer meetings, made this gruesome discovery.
“When we arrived, there was no sign of anything being amiss.

Everything was in order until one of us required a drink from the fridge,” explained Gogo Annah Masinga.

“When we opened the fridge, we found a large black plastic bag and thought it was meat. We decided to put this in the freezer. When I opened it, my body trembled when we found body parts covered with clothes,” Masinga said.

When the woman opened the freezer the head of Mkhulu Albert Mthombothi fell out. They raised the alarm and members of the community came to see what was happening.

At that time it was alleged that the suspect who had apparently been hiding in the centre, had escaped through the back door, however, community members managed to catch him. It was also alleged that he had been found in possession of a medium-sized knife and keys to the centre.

Police were summoned to the scene and a search of the centre led to the deceased’s intestines and other body parts being discovered in a dustbin in the bathroom.

According to the centre’s manager, Ms Hellen Ndinisa, they were still in shock. She explained that Mthombothi started coming to the centre in November last year due to unknown problems with his relatives.

He ended up finding shelter at the old-age home where he had become known to many as “the mkhulu who sleeps at the centre”.
“We are still shocked. This happened at a time when he was trying to find his family as he suspected that the boy wanted to kill him,” Ndinisa said.

“We are just confused, did the boy do this alone or was he possessed? What amazes us more is that there were no signs of blood anywhere in the building.”

According to the suspect’s neighbours, his state of mind was also brought into question as he used to roam the streets carrying a knife and would at times mumble that he wanted blood. His family believed that the police would make more arrests in this matter.

“I don’t deny and don’t agree, it’s just unbelievable that he can do this all by himself. He did have drug-related problems and was on treatment which he sometimes refused to take,” explained the suspect’s mother, Ms Nokuthula Mbalati.

The local councillor, Dr Isaac Tlou, working with members of the community, managed to find relatives of the deceased who said he came from Manyisa in Maputo, Mozambique. Mashaba was arrested and had already appeared in court.