A quick visit from a Johannesburg-based policeman to his family home in Malamulele ended tragically when he was possibly murdered and his body set alight next to his bakkie.

Freddie Makondo arrived at Ntlhaveni Block H in Malamulele last Tuesday to see his parents, leaving his wife and children in Johannesburg where he was working. While at his family home, Freddie Makondo enjoyed sharing marula beer with his friends, not knowing that the end was nigh for him.

He had also paid a courtesy visit to the local headman and many locals were proud that, even though he was working in Johannesburg where he also owned a house, Makondo thought of them and spent time to be with them. But as fate would have it, the village is in deep mourning. His family believes he was murdered, but by whom they don’t know.

The charred remains of Freddie Makondo’s body were found last Thursday night outside the village. It is believed that he was first shot before his body was put in the bakkie and set alight.

His distraught mother, Tsatsawani, was so overcome with sorrow that she could not speak, but his sisters, Florence Makondo and Violet Hlungwani, said they thought it was murder, because it seemed that he had a wound to the forehead and that some people in the neighbour-hood said they heard him scream.

“My mother said he went out after he had received a phone call. He never came back and his bakkie was found outside the village with parts of his body burnt beyond recognition,” said Hlungwani.

They said that his wife was left back in Johannesburg and he had taken a few days off to see his parents.

The local traditional leader, Mr Joseph Nwamba, said he believed Makondo was murdered but not by local people. “He did not have enemies in Malamulele. It appears the people who could have murdered him were outside people, because he worked in Johannesburg and only came home on a few occasions. The local people liked him,” said Mr Nwamba.

Police spokesperson Inspector Norman Matsimbi of Saselamani Police said after Makondo’s death an inquest docket was opened, but this has now been changed to a murder docket, because of the suspicious circumstances under which he died.

“His car was burnt to ashes, and so were his feet and the rest of his body. He was identified by pieces of his clothing, his head and his right hand,” said Inspector Matsimbi. He said the police believe they will make a breakthrough and apprehend the cul-prits.

Makondo will be buried on Saturday at the local cemetery.

People in the area say it is difficult to fathom what is happening in their area after a well-known resident, Gibson Maluleke, was murdered and his body found in the nearby bushes recently. A woman had been arrested and it is believed she was released after she kept changing her statement. Another man recently disappeared and it is feared he was devoured by crocodiles after his clothes were found outside a dam.

“But do people undress in order to fish?” is the question that remains. Many stick to the conviction that he was also murdered.