A fresh search for the grave of slain Constable Francis Rasuge has yielded nothing, North West police said on Friday.
The search was based on the vision of a sangoma (traditional healer), who claimed Rasuge was buried in the garage of a double-roomed private home.
”We are done at the Nkuna house, but the search for the remains will continue,” Senior Superintendent Pieter du Plessis aid shortly after noon on Friday.
Rasuge was last seen alive outside a hair salon on August 27 2004 with Nkuna, who was convicted of her murder in October 2005 despite the absence of her body.
Police started their inspection of the Nkuna house at 9am on Friday.
”The garage was being used as a family and television room so we had to remove the furniture and even the carpet,” said Du Plessis.
The inspection had revealed ”no real or serious disturbance” of the cement floor.
”It [the house] was built way back in 1994, so if there is a grave, then someone had to tamper with the floor,” Du Plessis said earlier.
Police also made use of three search dogs, none of which responded positively for human remains.
There was no indication at this stage that Rasuge was buried there, he said.
He renewed the police call on anyone with information about the location of her grave to contact their local police station or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Du Plessis said Nkuna’s family was not present during the search.
He said Nkuna’s wife still lived at the house, but worked in a different town and was usually there only over weekends.
She had given the police permission to conduct the search and had made arrangements for relatives to assist them.
Also not present during the probe was the sangoma, whose identity was being protected by the police.
The sangoma’s statement was the latest in 100-plus reports based on dreams and visions about the Rasuge’s whereabouts, said Du Plessis.
Although the sangoma was unable ”to say it’s this or that house”, police went to the Nkuna home to see if it fit the description given in the statement, he said.
Police voiced scepticism from the start at the likelihood of the vision yielding positive results.
At the time of Nkuna’s trial, widespread appeals were made for him to reveal the whereabouts of Rasuge’s remains.
Judge Ronald Hendricks deduced that Nkuna had shown no remorse for the killing from his unwillingness to reveal the location of her body and his lack of empathy towards her family.
”He must bring Rasuge’s bones so that her family can bury her bones with dignity,” said the African National Congress Women’s League’s Caroline Makasi.
The victory for justice and for the Rasuge family was ”a hollow one if the family could not have the closure of knowing where her remains are”, added the then-National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi.
”Nkuna should now salvage the last few tatters of dignity he may have left by making known where Constable Rasuge’s remains can be found,” implored police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi.
”Her family deserves to be given the opportunity to bury their beloved Francis and to be able to visit her grave.”
A few weeks after the sentence was handed down, David Cornelius (35), who purported to be a friend of Nkuna, claimed he knew where Rasuge was buried and led police to a grave.
The body was exhumed, but turned out to be that of an older woman buried long before Rasuge’s disappearance in August 2004. — Sapa