Body found under pile of rubbish
THE body of an unidentified man believed to be in his 40s was found by horrified East London residents yesterday, buried under a pile of rubbish in Southernwood.
Thick traces of blood indicated that the body may have been dragged for about a metre from the pavement to the rubbish pile, police said.
Eastern Cape provincial police spokesman Captain Khaya Tonjeni yesterday said a case of murder was being investigated by the East London police.
Tonjeni said the deceased could be about 40 years old.
“It is alleged that the body was discovered by municipal workers at St Peters Road and the matter was reported to police at about 9am.
“The identity and the next of kin of the deceased have not been identified.”
Tonjeni said the cause and circumstances surrounding the death were being investigated by police.
He urged anyone with information to contact the police, and said all information shared would be treated with confidentiality.
When the Dispatch team visited the scene, police had cordoned off the area and a police forensic investigator was seen taking photographs.
Although the deceased’s identity is still unknown, according to nearby street vendors the body could be that of a popular car guard who used to operate in nearby Muir Street.
Passer-by Siphelele Qumbayo said he recognised the dead man as a fellow car guard operating near Grens Primary School. “I really feel upset,” he said. Southernwood resident Andile Kom, 19, said the victim looked like a man he knew who washed cars on the beachfront. Beatrice Meseh, 32, who was going out with her young children to buy bread at 8am, said she saw blood traces on the pavement outside the gates to St Peters Court.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” she said, adding that it was not nice to see such a sight “especially with little children”.
Her husband Daniel Meseh, 42, said the discovery by his wife had left them traumatised.
“Seeing the body of a human being is a traumatic experience.
“In my entire stay at this complex I’ve never woken up to such a sight,” he said. — dispatch.co.za