The Mbedzi family at Tswinga outside Thohoyandou is still in a state of shock, following the mysterious death one of their sons.

Avhashoni Mbedzi (18), a Grade 9 pupil at the Luvhaivhai Secondary School, went missing from home on Saturday last week, after telling family members that he was going to friends in the neighbourhood. He never returned home.

He was found dead on Thursday, hanging from a tree, not far from his home.

A family member, Mmbulaheni Tshikororo, said when the boy had not come back home, they had never suspected that something bad had happened to him. He said they had started panicking when he had not come home the following day and that was when they decided to inform the local traditional leader.

"We were advised to go to the police station and to file a missing person docket, which we did on Monday. The police came and residents joined in and a search party was dispatched to the village, but it did not pay any dividends," he said.

It was only after a cattle herder informed the community of the grisly find that they rushed to the scene and found him hanging from a tree. He was found near his home.

"What puzzles us is that there was blood under him and he had several visible wounds,” Tshikororo said. "We need answers because we do not know what happened to him. We are not pointing fingers at anybody now, but we will wait for the law to takes its course,” he added.

He stated that they hoped the post mortem would shed light on what could have happened.

The mother of the young man, Ms Josephine Mbedzi, was overwhelmed with grief. "I am saddened and I am in a state of shock. I do not have any idea as to what could have happened.”

The deceased’s sister, Ms Avhapfani Mudau, said it was surprising that after being missing for days, his body was still intact. She mentioned that he had wounds on his mouth, hand and abdomen, which suggests that it is not a “usual suicide."

Meanwhile, rumours doing the rounds in the village are that the young man was ritually murdered. Thohoyandou police spokesperson Maj Mashudu Malelo said they had opened an inquest docket.