Decomposed body of man found in Egoli

EAST London police have opened an inquest docket after a decomposing body of a man was found in Egoli on Friday.

The body was discovered in a bush where initiates regularly build their amabhoma, or shelters, in which they live during the custom.

Fynbos resident Clarence Mitchell found the body while searching for wood to build initiate huts.

Police spokesman Captain Stephen Marais said an investigation was taking place to establish the cause of death.

“At this point in time we can’t determine the age and the cause of death. We found a shoelace in one of the trees next to the body and we collected all the evidence we could get to solve this case,” said Marais.

Mitchell said there was speculation the man was a local resident, from either Fynbos or Vergenoeg.

“He looked like a coloured man and people have now raised concern about the incident trying to figure out who the deceased could have been,” he said.

Preliminary investigations revealed the body had been in the bushes for about six months. The man was found lying on the ground with one shoe, a jacket, a Bafana Bafana Tshirt and trousers on.

Shaun Ruiters, present when the body was found, said: “This is really bad, it’s scary to know that people are killed in the same bush that accommodates teenagers for their initiation.

“There was no flesh there. We think he was murdered because there was no way that he could have used the shoelace to kill himself.” — mamelag@dispatch.co.za