The family of a couple whose decomposed bodies were recovered at their home in Ga-Marishane in Nebo, Limpopo, on Thursday has appealed for psycho-social counselling.
The woman, 34-year-old Cecilia Maila, body, was found buried in a shallow grave underneath a stack of firewood in the yard. It is suspected that the body had been buried there a few weeks.
Her husband, Johannes Mahlaba’s decomposed body, was found hanging from the roof inside the house.
A suicide note has reportedly been recovered from the scene.
The couple’s toddler daughter was found sitting in the room where her father’s body had been hanging.
Family representative, Sipho Mahlaba says the minor was found dehydrated and was taken to hospital.
“My brother and his wife refused to let her go with her family. Her family then told him in front of police that they will have him arrested if anything happened to her. That is why I think when she finally succumbed to her illness, my brother just buried her in secret. The situation is painful for all of us, but especially for the couple’s two-year-old who stayed with her deceased father for two days with a heavy stench without any food or water,” says Mahlaba.
