A mass grave containing 21 bodies was found outside Rustenburg on Friday in a search for five bodies of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) cadres, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said the bodies of children, young women and men were discovered in Lethabong village in North West.
”While searching for five MK cadres buried at the site, the task team stumbled upon a mass grave with the 21 bodies,” he said. ”There are no signs of bullet or any other wounds on the bodies. It appears that this had been a site for pauper burials.”
On the exhumation of the MK cadres, Tlali said only four bodies had been exhumed. The NPA was still looking for the fifth body.
On Wednesday, the NPA’s missing-persons task team discovered the remains of two young males with multiple bullet wounds. On Friday, the team found the remains of another two.
The cadres, who belonged to the armed wing of the African National Congress, are believed to have been killed by the apartheid security forces in 1985 and 1986, said Tlali.
The remains will be taken for forensic examination to establish whose remains they are, after which their next of kin will be located. — Sapa