A FAMILY at eNsimbini Reserve in eSikhaleni claimed the decomposed body recovered in a toilet on Wednesday, is one of their members.
The Dube family believe the body is that of their relative who went missing a month ago.
‘There is no doubt the body was his, we checked at the mortuary. We hope the body will be released for us to give him a decent funeral,’ said the family.
However, Empangeni spokesperson Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose told the Zululand Observer a DNA test will be conducted to guarantee his identity.
‘We can’t take their word for it and release the body. Proper procedures have to be followed before we can release the corpse,’ he said.
The body was found in a pit latrine at the Zwane homestead in the area. The residents said they were alarmed by the smell that came from their old toilet and checked the building.
eSikhawini police were called to the scene, however, the concrete foundation prevented them from reaching the body.
UMhlathuze fire and rescue team also attended the scene and demolished the structure using a bulldozer and managed to pull the body out of the pit.
Capt Mdlalose said they suspected the young man was murdered and dumped into the toilet, however, they were waiting for the postmortem result to determine the cause of death.
6 FEBRUARY2014
Body dumped in pit latrine
AN eSikhaleni family was horrified when they discovered a decomposed young man’s body in their toilet on Wednesday.
Alarmed by the awful smell from the pit latrine, the Zwane family searched the outside building and were stunned when the corpse was found.
The police were immediately called to the scene, but due to the concrete foundation it was difficult to pull the body up from the hole.
The uMhlathuze Fire and Rescue team speedily responded to the scene and demolished the building to facilitate the removal of the body.
Empangeni SAPS spokesperson Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose confirmed the decomposed body to be that of a black male in his thirties and DNA test will be conducted to establish his identity.
‘We suspect he was murdered and pushed down the toilet, but we cannot confirm anything before the post mortem has been conducted.
‘We request any family who has a missing relative to contact the eSikhawini police so that DNA tests can be done,’
At the scene, Dube family members living in the area told the Zululand Observer they believe the body is one of their relatives who went missing more than a week ago.
‘I am sure this is our brother, but we will wait for the tests before we could arrange anything like a funeral,’ they said.
