Initiation school leaders arrested after skeletal remains of two boys found

Two people have been detained after two boys died at an initiation school they were running.

The two were arrested in Ntsweletsoku village, North West, on Friday.

The comes after the disappearance of the two boys. They were reported missing at the Motswedi and Lehurutshe police stations in December.

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Bones found in bushes

The investigation took a grim turn when police, during their search, stumbled upon what appeared to be human skeletal remains concealed in a plastic bag in the bushes near Mosweu village.

Subsequent examinations confirmed that the discovered bodies matched those of the previously missing young men.

The ongoing investigation is probing into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Law enforcement authorities have not ruled out the possibility of connecting the suspects to additional cases, potentially involving the violation of the Customary Initiation Act of 2021.

North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena, commended the tireless work done by everyone involved in the operation for their tireless efforts.

The accused, aged 19 and 21, are set to appear before the Lehurutshe Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 15 January 2024. They will be facing charges of murder.

Woman missing in Nelson Mandela Bay

Meanwhile, detectives in Swartkops, Nelson Mandela Bay, have asked the community to help them find a 60-year-old woman who went missing on Saturday, 30 December 2023.  

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Capt Sandra Janse van Rensburg said Ntombizanele Gamone was last seen when she left her home in Wells Estate on 29 December. She told her niece she was visiting her boyfriend and would be back soon.

“According to information she went to the house of her boyfriend in Wells Estate and left the house at approximately 2am the Saturday morning and never returned home,” said Van Rensburg.

She was reported missing on Sunday 31 December 2023.

Police, along with members of Gamone’s family, visited other family members and friends to try and find her. They also went to nearby hospitals and the mortuaries.

At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a pink gown with white dots.

Anyone who can assist in tracing  Gamone can contact Swartkops police on 082 302 5807 or Captain Sinethemba Madiizela on 082 697 5979 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.