Man unearths body in backyard
'I pulled up the blanket and some flesh and bones came with it'
AN Ngwelezana resident got the shock of his life after he unearthed human remains in a shallow grave while digging in his backyard on Monday morning.
Hlangabeza Mbonambi (34) who moved into the home near the St Charles Lwanga Catholic Church last month, says at first he thought he had uncovered the remains of an animal, but soon realised he had stumbled upon the decomposing remains of a person.
‘I started last week, cleaning out the backyard, cutting down shrubs and the tall grass,’ he told the Eyethu BayWatch.
‘As I was digging to remove some roots I found a blanket. When I pulled the blanket up some flesh and bones came with it.
‘I thought it was maybe an animal so I put the stuff in rubbish bags but then I noticed one of the bones was too long to be an animal,’ said Mbonambi.
He continued to dig, and soon discovered a human skull bone, at which point he immediately contacted the police.
uThungulu Cluster Spokesman for the SAPS, Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose confirmed that an inquest docket was opened.
‘First we will try to establish how the person died,’ he said.
‘Thereafter we will try and establish the identity of the deceased through trying to match DNA records to our current missing person’s files.’
Captain Mdlalose said the process would be extremely difficult due to the state of decomposition in which the body was found.
‘Even establishing gender is difficult at this stage,’ he said.
Mbonambi said he moved back to the house because his brother, who had been living there since their mother died in 2011, had moved to eShowe last month when he got a new job.
He says the grisly discovery will not deter him from staying on in the house, as it had belonged to his parents.
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