All I want is his bones – mom
‘Shot’ young man still missing
A 100-year-old farmhouse in Mooinooi stands abandoned and stripped bare while two families seek answers to the mysterious disappearance of Tebogo Ndlovu.
The property is the centre of an ongoing murder trial that has divided the North West community along racial lines.
Ndlovu‚ from the nearby Majakaneng area‚ was allegedly shot at the farm on August 2 2017‚ allegedly while stealing oranges.
The 24-year-old was with two accomplices and has not been seen since the shooting.
The survivors identified 24year-old Matthew Benson‚ whose parents own the citrus farm‚ as the shooter.
Majakaneng residents, demanding Ndlovu’s body, vandalised the property and forced the farm owners to flee a few days after the shooting. Five months have passed. “We have lost everything we have worked for. It’s like day and night. I can’t believe this is the place we used to live in‚” said Matthew’s older brother‚ Alex Benson‚ after the Brits Magistrate’s Court transferred the murder case to the high court.
Production has stopped at the Bensons’ farm and 26 people from the poverty-stricken community of Majakaneng have lost their jobs.
The accused, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, will remain in custody until his next court appearance in May.
He previously told the court that Ndlovu is alive and was spotted in the province.
But the Ndlovu family tells a different story.
Martha Ndlovu firmly believes Benson killed her son. All she wants is his remains.
“It’s been a long time since my child disappeared,” she said. “If he was still alive, he would have contacted us by now. That boy killed him.
“I don’t care anymore why or how he was killed. All I want is his bones so we can bury them properly. We need closure‚” said Ndlovu.
During the initial stages of the investigation‚ DNA and ballistic tests linked Benson to the crime. But police are still investigating and have issued a reward of up to R100 000 for information.
Benson’s supporters too have hired a private investigator to find Ndlovu and have raised R41000 for any information regarding his whereabouts.
North West police spokesman Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone warned parties to not take the law into their own hands .