Another mysterious death at Tswinga

Mystery surrounds the death of a 26-year-old Tswinga man outside Thohoyandou. Mr Ndamulelo Nekhalale's body was found in bushes not very far from his home.

He went missing in the early hours of Sunday morning and his body was found after a frantic search by his family.

Information at the Limpopo Mirror's disposal is that he attended a bash at a local tavern that ended in the morning.

Nekhalale was allegedly with others when he was attacked at the gate while leaving for home. It is suspected that he then ran away in the direction of his home and ended up at a friend's home. Blood stains were found at the house of his friend, but what happened there is still a mystery.

A theory doing the rounds is that he could have been mistaken for a criminal by neighbours, who might also have attacked him.

Nekhalale's younger brother, Khwathelani, said that the family became worried upon learning that he had not arrived home after having left home on Saturday for the bash. "We reported him missing to the police and, together with the police, looked everywhere but with no luck. It was only when we were at the Chief's palace where a meeting was held, when we received a call from one of our brother's neighbours who told us he had chased a thief the previous night and he also gave us the direction in which the man had run. We followed the direction, until we found the body in bushes not very far from the tavern where he had been enjoying himself with friends.”

He added that it was a terrible sight and that the family could not believe that it was him. “We are very saddened, but we are not pointing fingers as we have faith in the police and we believe that their investigations will reveal what actually happened before our brother was killed," he said.

After news of the discovery of his body spread, a huge crowd gathered at the scene where he was found. A member of the community who preferred anonymity said they were tired of crime in the area. "Our minds are still fresh, and we still remember the death of a man who was doing construction work here. So many other crimes have been committed in this area, and the only way to stop this is to teach these criminals a lesson they will never forget.”

Just after the body was taken away, a group of residents went straight to the main road from Thohoyandou where they blockaded the road with burning tyres and big rocks. Police reacted swiftly and tried to get the situation under control. They had their hands full and temporarily cleared the road for motorists to pass. Some of the residents who came from town before the police arrived had to carry their groceries and other belongings for a long distance as vehicles could not pass.

Limpopo police spokesperson Col Moatshe Ngoepe confirmed that they had opened a murder docket, following the discovery of the dead man. "A community member alerted the police about the body of a man that was found at nearby bushes. The police proceeded to the scene and found the lifeless body of a 26-year-old man, Ndamulelo Nekhalale, with deep wounds on his face, left hand and left leg. The motive of this killing is still unknown.”

He added that police investigations were continuing but that the suspects were unknown and no arrest had been made yet. He warned the community against the blockading of roads and for the community to give the police space to conduct their investigations.

Date:13 October 2018

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

Read: 2722