Mystery surrounds the discovery of a badly swollen body in the Luvuvhu River not far from the Nandoni Dam. Surrounding communities of Tswinga and Tshitomboni fear that it might be the work of the feared and notorious Gumaguma gangs who have their roots in Zimbabwe.

The discovery of the body has left many with the question: Are the Gumaguma back at work as this is not the first case involving a Zimbabwean in the village?

An angler who was checking his nets floating in the river on Sunday morning discovered the body. Alpheus Mukwevho, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene, said he knew the man very well. “We were fishing at the other end of the river when we heard that somebody had been thrown into the river. We immediately left our nets and rushed to the scene,” he said. He said they found the police already there and asked them what was to be done as the body was not very far from the bank of the river. “We decided to phone Vho Thovhele Nkhaneni Ramovha, who has his own boat. He responded swiftly and the body was taken out of the water.”

The man’s face was swollen and it was hard to recognize him. It was clear that he had been assaulted before being killed and thrown into the water to make it look as if it was a drowning.

Mukwevho said the community was living in fear from not knowing what had actually happened to the man. ”You never know, this might be the resurgence of the Gumaguma gangs that target fellow Zimbabweans for robbery and attacks. We might be caught in the crossfire if these gangs are not identified and arrested,” he said.

Some community members, however, believe that the dead man might have been checking his nets in a make-shift boat, which might have capsized, and he drowned. The deceased regularly checked his nets in the late hours of the evening and some claimed he used to go there drunk.

Limpopo police spokesperson in Vhembe Inspector Nkanukeni Raedani confirmed the incident. He said the man, who is believed to be a Zimbabwean, has been identified as Thomas Magweru (24). Raedani said the circumstances leading to his death were sketchy and he could not speculate as to what had happened. “We have opened an inquest docket and we are waiting for a report from the doctor, but if there is anybody who has evidence about the incident, they are invited to come forward with it and we will take it from there,” he said.