RESIDENTS of Shawela village refused to accept DNA results that showed that it was indeed the body of Glen Mothomoholo that they exhumed earlier this month.
Police performed a DNA test on the body after residents exhumed Mothomoholo’s grave, claiming that the body was that of a stranger. The results were released to the family last week, but villagers were having none of it.
Mothomoholo disappeared from Tembisa in August last year and his family found his body in the Pretoria state mortuary in July this year. The family brought the body home to Shawela for burial.
Once the body was brought home for the funeral, Mothomoholo’s mother and siblings confirmed it was his body, while other family members and residents said it was the body of a stranger.
A private funeral, excluding some of the family members, as well as residents, was held and the body buried.
Police intervened when villagers exhumed the body and took it to the family’s house. They sent the body to the state mortuary in Polokwane where the necessary DNA tests were performed to establish whether the body was that of Mothomoholo or somebody else.
Phineas Mothomoholo, a family representative, spoke to a group of concerned villagers on Sunday and said police confirmed that the body in question was that of Glen Mothomoholo.
He said the body was ready to be re-buried.
“They showed the DNA results and photographs of the scene of the accident that was taken after Glen was hit by a car to 11 family members,” he said, explaining that the police would not allow the family to take the results or the photographs to the village with them.
This news fuelled the residents’ anger and they questioned the authenticity of the results.
“How can we believe that this is the right person when we don’t have the results or the photos,” Wonder Mdaka, a resident, said to loud applause from the rest of the people present.
Hosi Aaron Mahumani said it was imperative to restore the dignity of the affected people. He appealed for calm and said he would ask for a formal report from the police.
“As much as we want the truth to triumph, we need to handle the matter in a way that would not infringe on the rights and dignity of the family of the deceased.”
