Human remains found in PSJ forest
BURNT human remains have been recovered in a forest in Port St Johns, (PSJ) sparking fears that it could be those of a woman who went missing with her two-year-old child more than a month ago.
The gruesome discovery was reportedly made by a villager who had gone to collect wood in Dumasi forest early last week.
Last month, the Daily Dispatch reported how police in PSJ had launched a frantic search for 27year-old Yvonne Mbekwa and her two-year-old daughter after they vanished in the first week of June.
Mbekwa, who hailed from Mantusini village but worked as a domestic worker in Mkhankatho village, had reportedly left Mkhankatho village on June 5 saying she was going to PSJ to meet with the father of her child. She has not been seen since. PSJ ward councillor Fikile Jama, who alerted the paper about the discovery, said the area where the bones were found was more than 50km away from Mkhankatho.
Her distraught uncle Phumzile Mbekwa told the Dispatch yesterday he was convinced the bones were those of his niece and her two-yearold toddler.
But police spokesman Captain Godlwana said they still needed to run tests to ascertain who the bones belonged to.
“At this stage, we cannot even tell whether those are human or animal bones,” he said. “Tests have to be done first.”
Godlwana, however, revealed that a bag containing documents belonging to the missing woman and several of her clothing items had been discovered a few metres from where the remains were recovered.
He said an inquest had been opened following the discovery.
Phumzile on the other hand revealed that his niece, a mother of two, had vanished after agreeing to meet with one of her children’s father who allegedly works as a police officer at the PSJ police station.
“We are not happy with how the whole thing has been handled. They are dragging their feet in apprehending him because they work with him,” he claimed.
He also alleged that the man had now started threatening people in Mantusini village.
Commenting on accusations that police were dragging their feet on the matter, Godlwana dismissed those allegations saying police were not aware that there was already a suspect.