KwaZulu-Natal police say they are not ruling out the possibility that a serial killer could be responsible for at least five deaths at uMthwalume on the south coast of Durban.
Since December last year, the bodies of six women have been found in sugarcane fields in the area. This week, two decomposed bodies were discovered naked, just 300 meters apart.
The mood is somber as uMthwalume community members wait for the police to retrieve the sixth body of a woman found in the bushes in a sugarcane field. The decomposed bodies of two women have been found in the area in the last 24 hours. At this stage, police say that at least five of these murders could possibly be linked to a serial killer.
The body of the fifth victim, Zama Chiliza, was found by a group of women who had been collecting firewood and were alerted by the smell from the nearby bushes.
Community Policing Forum Chairperson, Lucky Bhuyela says, “I was going past when young women who were collecting firewood stopped me and told me there was an awful smell coming out of the woods and they were scared to go close and asked me to have a look. I got out of the car and went to look. I discovered a body that was thrown in the woods and whoever it was covered the body with leaves.”
Leader of a local women’s organization, Hlengiwe Gambushe, says women in the area are no longer feeling safe.
“We are not safe at all because we don’t know if this serial killer is someone from the community. We don’t know if these women are killed by someone they know because I don’t think you can get into the car of a stranger. I’m heartbroken because these are young women who are being killed and in turn, they’re leaving young children motherless.”
#sapsKZN Port Shepstone #SAR, #K9SAR together with Pmb K9 SAR and Dbn K9 SAR were called out to Mtwalume area to assist with an area search yesterday after Hibberdene #SAPS were informed about a body that was found by locals. Body of a woman recovered. Murder docket opened ME pic.twitter.com/pR8kNExZPq
— SA Police Service ?? (@SAPoliceService) August 12, 2020
Umzumbe Local Municipality Mayor, Londolo Zungu, says more interventions are needed to curb Gender-Based Violence.
“It’s shocking and there is another body that has been found by police just now. From the morning, the police were here and we’re doing a search and after that, they found another body the lady is half-naked and it’s painful really like the community and the leaders here, but all of us now don’t know what to do because it means each and every day now we’re going to find another who was killed by somebody and no one is arrested.”
KwaZulu-Natal police say they are not ruling out the possibility that a serial killer could be responsible for at least five of these deaths. Police Spokesperson Thembeka Mbhele says so far no arrests have been made.
“The body was found down there by the bushes in the same area the body was severely decomposed, but it can be confirmed it was a woman and I can confirm that the chest is opened and it’s said the panty was found inside the body. She was covered in the scarf, sort of she was strangled. We are working around the clock as police, but we cannot rule out that there is a serial killer moving around here. It’s only that we do not have the conclusive evidence that suggests that.”
The owner of the sugar plantation has offered a reward of R20 000 for any information that could lead to the arrest of those responsible for the killings.
Police teams are expected to continue searching the area for other bodies.
