Missing man's body found near river at Tswera village

The 37-year-old Isaac Thifhelimbilu Tshidino from Mulodi Thembaluvhilo, who went missing three weeks ago, was found dead on Monday, 26 April.

Isaac left his home on 16 April after he had told his family that he was going to Tshilamba town to collect money he was owed by an unknown person. He was never seen again.

The police and the community searched everywhere, but the search became a fruitless exercise. His disappearance caused the family to fear that he might have been killed. Their fears were confirmed when his body was found at a river in Tswera, a village quite far from his home. The family now seems to be left with many more questions than answers concerning his disappearance and death.

Isaac’s sister, Alice Tshidino, said that the family members were still in shock and in a state of confusion. “We heard that the body of an unknown man was found at a river at the Tswera village, and we rushed there - only to find that it was our brother. We found so many people there and I quickly identified the face as that of our brother. The first question that came to my mind was how he had ended up there, a very long distance from his home,” Alice said and added that the family wanted to know how he had died.

“I only saw his face and I thought they would allow us to see his whole body during the post-mortem, but that did not happen. We are not happy at all, but we will await the results of the post-mortem to find closure,” she said.

The local traditional leader, Chief Patrick Nemulodi, said that, after being notified of Isaac’s disappearance, everyone had helped the family to look for him. “As community leaders we are very saddened, as we had hoped he would be found alive. Instead, this has happened. Yet, we can only commend the community for remaining calm and not being led by emotions. The body has been found and we will hear from experts as to what could have caused his death,” he said.

Community leader and Mutale Concerned Group and Care chairperson Benedict Nalana said that the growing number of missing people in the area was becoming a matter of great concern to them. “The police must do their work and investigate these disappearances, as it seems as if there is a sinister motive around the disappearance,” he said.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed Isaac’s death and said that the police were investigating the circumstances around his disappearance and death.

Date:06 May 2021

By: Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology.

He is passionate about current news and international affairs.

He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017.

He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

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