The residents of Withok Estates in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg fear for their lives after four bodies were found in one month, with three of them discovered in the past week.

Cattle herders in the area found the bodies and alerted the police.

On May 13, the badly decomposed body of a man was found near Boland Street. He had on a torn red Uzzi T-shirt and brown trousers.

On Monday, three bodies were found near Lukas Steyn Street.

“According to a witness, he discovered the bodies last Friday when seeking shelter from the rain,” says the Brakpan SAPS communications officer, Constable Audrey Buthelezi.

“The male alleged he tried to phone the police but was unsuccessful. On Monday, he saw an EMPD (Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Police Department) vehicle and stopped it.”

Buthelezi says the bodies were inside a dilapidated container.

“Both deceased males had gunshot wounds, and we found four empty cartridges at the scene. One of the deceased males had a backpack containing tools for cable theft, and the area is a current hotspot for cable theft.”

A third, badly burnt body was found not far from the scene.

“We are investigating two cases of murder and an inquest,” she said.

The police call on anyone with information that would assist them to come forward.

Concerned resident Maria Mushwana says she fears for her safety now that bodies had been found.

“People are always driving in the area for various reasons, most commonly to perform spiritual rituals, and there are cattle herders we can’t keep track of. Every month, we wake up to a body found by the herders. We don’t know if these people were killed somewhere else and dumped here or killed here,” she says.