Crocs guard remains of suspect's body
July 17 2010 at 08:13PM



By Tanya Waterworth

EIGHT crocodiles were spotted surrounding the half-eaten body of a man in the Nseleni River last Monday.

The crocodiles were carefully guarding the remains, which had to be retrieved by Empangeni SAPS Search and Rescue Unit.

The body is believed to be that of a man who had allegedly tried to attack a farm labourer the previous week.

According to police reports, there had been a quarrel between the man and the labourer on a farm in the Duzi area, and the suspect had tried to attack the labourer with a knife. The labourer's employer came to his assistance and they tried to subdue the man.


"The man ran away and attempted to swim across the Nseleni River to escape and, according to witnesses, he immediately disappeared below the surface of the water," said SAPF spokesman Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose.

A police search of the river took place, but there was no sign of the body until last Monday.

The remains have still to be identified as those of the missing suspect.

An identity document was found at the scene of the crime belonging to Nkosikhona Mabaso, 24, and police have appealed to any next-of-kin to contact them.

Another case involving Nseleni crocodiles was in the Mtuba High Court this week.

Keegan Govender, 18, the suspect in the gruesome killing of a Richards Bay man earlier this year, appeared in court yesterday.

Govender has been accused of killing Gansen Gounder and allegedly burying him in the garden before trying to dispose of the evidence by throwing Gounder's body into the croc-infested Nseleni River in December. His trial has been set for March next year.


This article was originally published on page 2 of The Independent on Saturday on July 17, 2010