The family of one of the two women whose bodies were found lying in a dumping area in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, said the deceased had been planning to leave Gauteng to look for greener pastures elsewhere before she was murdered. 

The family of Tsepiso Ntomane, whose body was found on Monday, said the deceased was unemployed and had been looking forward to leaving the province. Her cousin Hlalele Setlai, who collect scrap metals, found the bodies in an open veld. 

Provincial police spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo said the bodies of two women, both aged 30, were found in an open veld in Villa Liza, Boksburg. 

“We received a call from members of the community about two bodies in an open veld. We then dispatched police from the Dawn Park police station to the area and they found two bodies of females. The bodies were already in a state of composition, so we could not see any visible injuries,” said Masondo.

Masondo said a police inquest docket has been opened and the cause of death is unknown at this stage as the police are still waiting for the postmortem report.

Ntomane lived alone in a shack in the Freedom Park informal settlement next to Villa Liza.

Setlai, 45, who lives in Daveyton, said Ntomane’s neighbours said they last saw his cousin on Friday afternoon when she was getting ready to go to a New Year’s crossover party at a friend’s place at Holomisa informal settlement near Windmill Park in Boksburg.

Setlai said he was able to identify Ntomane by the clothes she was wearing.

“I was only made aware by her neighbours on Monday morning that she was missing. On Monday I was here at the veld around 8am collecting scrap metal items. My friends and I sensed that there was a bad smell coming from the veld. We searched around and found two bodies. They were in a bad condition. You could not see the faces properly and there were even maggots crawling on their bodies.

“The neighbours told me Tsepiso [Ntomane] was wearing a white T-shirt, flowery doek and black Nike shoes. The shorts she was wearing were covered in blood. I could tell through the clothes that it is her,” said Setlai.

When Sowetan visited the crime scene on Tuesday, there were heaps of uncollected refuse at the spot where the bodies were found. There was a strand of maroon braids and an umbrella lying on the ground.

“I feel a lot of pain. The last time I spoke to her was just before Christmas. She told me that she wanted to leave Gauteng and go seek greener pastures elsewhere,” said Setlai.

Ntomane’s friend, Nthabiseng Ramone, 27, said Ntomane had sent her a WhatsApp voicenote message on Friday night at 9.50pm saying she was on her way to her place for their party and did not hear from her again.

Masondo asked anyone with information on the incident to contact their nearest police station or Crime Stop on ‪0860010111.