Dan Fuphe

The gruesome discovery of human remains - a skull and several bones - wrapped in what appears to be the remnants of a plastic bag, has left the communities of Daveyton and Etwatwa in Ekurhuleni horrified.

According to Etwatwa police spokesman Ramothaki Maqabe, the remains were found by an unnamed man who, while waiting for transport along Mphephetu Road on the outskirts of Chris Hani Township, noticed what appeared to be a human skull and bones in a ditch nearby last week.

"On inspection, the man was shocked to realise these were human remains.

"He immediately contacted the police," Maqabe said.

He said from the condition of the bones it could be assumed they had been at the scene for some time. The area and the plastic in which the remains were found had been damaged by a veld fire.

The resulting heat also appeared to have caused the skull to crack at the crown.

However, the upper jaw and teeth had remained intact.

Police at the scene could not say precisely how long the remains had been there.

They said investigations would reveal whether the crime had been committed elsewhere and if the remains had merely been dumped in the ditch as a cover-up to mislead police investigations.

Asked if it was possible to tell the age and gender of the victim, Maqabe said only a DNA test could determine this.

"Normally, depending on the workload, this could take anything from seven months to a year," Maqabe said.

Police have called on members of the public who might have a relative missing to contact their nearest police station.