Riot Hlatshwayo

Riot Hlatshwayo

The body of a 21-year-old woman found buried in the garden of a local policeman last week has shocked the Songeni village in Mpumalanga.

The police officer's brother has been arrested for the alleged murder of Advice Mashaba.

Residents of the village near Thulamahashe in Mpumalanga gathered at the police inspector's home after a police dog sniffed out the grave.

The grisly exhumation came only an hour after the policeman's brother had had a charge of kidnapping the dead woman thrown out of court for lack of evidence.

He has subsequently been rearrested and will appear in court this week to face murder charges.

Edworks Mashaba, the dead woman's father, said a witness had seen his daughter being assaulted near her home.

The witness allegedly later saw someone carrying a body over his shoulder near the scene.

When her disappearance was reported to them, the Mhala police brought Mashaba's former boyfriend in for questioning on suspicion of kidnapping , but he was later released

The Mashaba family claim that he was released because his brother is a policeman.

They also alleged that police did not conduct a proper search of the area.

After Sowetan contacted the Mopani police and the Mhala police, the dog unit was dispatched to conduct a search.

Although that search was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested.

But, the Mhala magistrates' court provisionally withdrew the case for lack of evidence.

After the case was withdrawn, the police immediately sent the dog unit to the police inspector's home where the body was recovered.