Dead man beheaded in his grave

DOUBLE tragedy has struck a family in Makwasie, near Wolmaranstad in North West after a family member's grave was desecrated and his head cut off.

On Saturday, Ezekiel Motloung, 42, was buried in Lebaleng cemetery.

Two days later, the family was horrified to learn that Motloung's grave had been dug up.

Motloung's aunt Abia Mathekga-Leseisane said they were told by a person who works at the cemetery about "something strange" at the grave.

"There were only two funerals on Saturday, so he knew which grave was Ezekiel's. When we arrived at the cemetery, we could tell that someone had dug up the grave. So we called the police."

The police obtained permission from the magistrate's court to exhume the body.

"Then they began digging and not long after they had started, they came across the coffin.

"My suspicion is that something must have disturbed them (grave robbers) while they were trying to put the coffin back into the ground," Mathekga-Leseisane said.

It was only after the police had taken Motloung's body out of the coffin that the full extent of the horror was revealed.

"His head was missing and there was what seemed like a hole in the upper body. It was unbelievable," she said.

She said there was nothing untoward on Friday when the family mourned Motloung ahead of the funeral.

"His head was still intact, so we were all horrified to see him lying there with his head missing.

"The past few days have been very difficult for us as a family. It has even been worse for his mother, and we even had to take her to a doctor because we are worried about her," she said.

"We are leaving everything in the hands of the police and hope that whoever is behind this will be arrested and brought to justice."

The police's Thulani Ngubane said investigations were under way.

"We would also like to ask the public to let us know if they hear or see anything suspicious," Ngubane said, adding that Motloung's body had been taken to a police mortuary in Klerksdorp. 

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