Workers of the Makonde Raedani shopping complex were greeted by a gruesome discovery on Saturday. One of their counterparts, Pinto Mbewe (50), was found lying dead with gaping wounds to his head.

His arms were broken and his head was lying in a pool of blood. There were indications that there was a struggle before death finally caught up with him and big pieces of wood, which were allegedly used to hit him, were found a few metres from his cold body.

His wristwatch was found next to his body while his cell phone was found a few metres from where he was murdered. Mysteriously, the gates of the place were still locked but his body was found on the premises, raising many unanswered questions about how he had died. Police are following some leads in tracing his killers and there is hope that they will make some arrests soon.

Commonly known as Piet, Mbewe was a socialite who enjoyed popularity around the Makonde area. He was a staunch member of the Wells of Revival Church. Mbewe came to South Africa legally 12 years ago and his hard work saw him being employed as a general worker at Makonde Raedani shopping complex. He was offered accommodation in the shopping complex and he stayed in the checkpoint room, next to the main entrance.

Mbewe’s body was discovered at about 06:00 in the morning. One of the workers, Eunice Netshiavha, says the gates were still locked when she reported for work on Saturday morning. "I went to work happily, without suspecting anything, but the gates were still locked when I arrived at about 06:00. When I peeped through the gate, I realized that there was someone on the ground and I presumed that it might have been someone who was drunk. It then came to me that the gates were locked and I could not understand why the person had been left in the yard. We then called the manager to come and unlock the gates and we were greeted with the shock of our lives."

Eunice says when they looked closely, they realized that the man was dead. "Although he was badly injured, it was very easy to identify him because we knew him very well. His head was seriously injured and there was blood at the scene of the incident. He did not deserve to die such a cruel death, because he was everyone’s friend."

Supt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi of the Limpopo police confirmed the incident. "We are investigating a murder case and closely following the leads, although no arrest has been made so far. We ask community members who might know something about the incident to contact us. We hope to make a breakthrough soon but we can only be successful through the assistance of our beloved community members."