A middle-aged man who was shot and killed in Chief Mgiyeni Khumalo Drive, White River, in March, has still not been identified.

Eyewitnesses told the police they had seen two men engage in a heated debate, when one of them drew a firearm and fired a warning shot.

However, the squabble allegedly continued, and the second man subsequently attacked the first with a chain, which led to the fatal shot being fired. The police were called and Emer-G-Med paramedics declared the man dead on the scene of the altercation.

The case against the man who had allegedly shot the victim, was not enrolled at the White River Magistrate’s Court on March 27 due to a lack of evidence.

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The White River SAPS’s investigations continue.
Its spokesperson, Funeka Mathebula, said the victim, aged about 50, was thought to be homeless. The body is still in the government mortuary.

Mathebula said the police are calling on members of the public who might be able to assist in locating his family, to come forward.

“The fact that the deceased lived on the streets, makes it extremely difficult to trace his family. We don’t know his name or where he was born, as even the local people did not know him.”

Mathebula also said the investigating officer would release his full description in due course.

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The City of Mbombela’s spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, said according to the municipality, in terms of Section 48(2) of the Health Act 1997, the responsibility for the removal and burial of the body of a destitute person, or any dead body that is unclaimed or which no competent person undertakes to bury, shall devolve upon the local authority.

If a dead body is not identified within six months, the municipality in which the body was discovered will perform a pauper’s burial at its own cost at a cemetery determined by it. The municipality that governs White River in this case, will issue notices on various media platforms to make a final call for identification before the person will be laid to rest in one of the town’s cemeteries.