Caught in the act: Two found digging up grave of teenager buried last month
The two diggers fled the scene, leaving several items including a panga, a spade as well as a bag with some items resembling muti.
The two diggers fled the scene, leaving several items including a panga, a spade as well as a bag with some items resembling muti.
Pretoria – Police in Masoyi are investigating a bizarre incident in which two people were seen digging up the grave of a teenager who was buried last month, apparently in a move to exhume his body.
“The discovery of this shocking incident is said to have been made by some residents in the early hours of yesterday, Wednesday 14 December 2022, at Jerusalem graveyard in Masoyi outside White River,” said Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
“A case with regard to a violation of a corpse has been opened and is under investigation.”
It is alleged that some members of the community went to the graveyard, in preparation for a funeral, when they saw two people in the cemetery. The two people who were digging up a grave, fled when they saw the group arriving.
Police at Masoyi were informed about the incident, and upon arrival at the graveyard, they discovered that the suspects had left a panga, a spade as well as a bag with some items which looked like muti.
“Upon closer observation, the grave of a man who was buried on 23 November 2022, at the age of 19, was dug but the suspects failed to bring the body to the surface. His family was then summoned and they are in a process to determine whether his body parts are complete,” Mohlala said.
“Police cannot rule out the possibility that the act could be somehow related to some kind of practices of a certain cult. However, more details will unfold as the investigation progresses.”
No one has been arrested so far, and the SAPS in Mpumalanga is appealing to anyone with information that may assist the investigation to call the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111, or send information via the MySAPS App.
“All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous,” Mohlala said.
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