A 40-year-old security guard from Kudzeni was found dead in a forest at Mfabantfu yesterday, in a suspected suicide following an alleged disagreement with his girlfriend.
The man, who was renting a flat at Mfabantfu and was employed as a security guard had reportedly been missing since Tuesday. His body was discovered by a search party comprising community members and community police who had joined efforts to locate him after he went missing.
According to community member Petros Msibi, the man had allegedly left a message for his mother indicating that he would be found by cattle herders in the forest after taking his own life if people went looking for him.
Msibi said he was walking towards an overhead bridge when he encountered community police who informed him that they were searching for a missing person and requested his assistance.
He said they proceeded to search the surrounding area, dividing themselves into groups to cover more ground.
During the search, Msibi said they came across the man’s body in the bushes near a guava tree. [A scene detail has been withheld from this digital version.]
A police officer who went to the scene, but requested anonymity, confirmed that the deceased was a 40-year-old man from Kudzeni. [The reported method has been withheld from this digital version.]
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Zwane also confirmed the discovery, saying the man had allegedly committed suicide.
The deceased’s family later arrived at the scene to identify the body, which was subsequently taken away by the police. They declined to comment.
If this report is distressing, call 977 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.
