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By Faizel Patel

Senior Digital Journalist


Police investigate after discovering burnt body of a 10-year-old

The body of the child was found burnt beyond recognition in a shack just after midnight on Sunday.


Police in are investigating a case of inquest following the discovery of a corpse of a 10-year-old boy in Limpopo.

The body of the child was found burnt beyond recognition in a shack just after midnight on Sunday, 2 July 2023, at Marapong Ext 3 in the Manamela Park squatter camp.

Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said officers received information about the burnt body of the boy after his mother left him in another room with his 17-year-old sister who later left him alone at night.

Cause of fire

“It is still not yet known as to what caused the fire. According to reports, emergency services and police were summoned to the scene, and on their arrival, they found the boy was deceased. He was certified dead at the scene, and identified as Moshi Matsobane Bradly,” said Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.

Provincial Commissioner of the Saps in LImpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, urged parents to take extra care of their children particularly during the winter season.

“She urged parents to always be aware of the whereabouts of their children and not to leave fire unattended,” Ledwaba said.

Police investigations are continuing.

ALSO READ: Two dead in Zandspruit shack fire

Other fire incidents

Last month, two people were declared dead and more than 10 shacks were burnt down after a fire spread through the Zandspruit informal settlement in Gauteng.

The two bodies that were discovered by firefighters were burnt beyond recognition.

City of Joburg EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba said they received a call just before midnight.

Radebe-Kgiba said fire safety officials are conducting preliminary investigations into the cause of the fire. She added that Johannesburg’s disaster management unit is assisting the affected families.

In a separate incident, a woman died after her home, at Drieziek in Orange Farm, caught fire.

Two other people, including a young child, were rushed to hospital.

Radebe-Kgiba said the house caught fire after the woman left her stove on overnight. She was using the stove to keep herself warm, but fell asleep.

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