Durban: The body of a factory cutter, who was allegedly beaten with a hammer and stabbed, was found in a shallow grave 15 minutes away from his home.
Before leaving his home on June 25, Leon Govender told his parents he would buy stock for their tuckshop and would be home early.
The 36-year-old lived in Malundi township in Umkomaas.
“But my son never returned home,” said his father, George Govender.
“When he was not home by 5pm, I walked around the area.
“A woman at one of the shops said he had just bought groceries and left.
“So I returned home.
“While on my way, another man told me he also saw my son carrying packets.
“But when I arrived home, Leon was not there.
“My wife and my other sons began to worry but we decided to wait a few hours to see if he turned up.”
He said by Saturday morning, his son was still missing.
“So we decided to open a missing person's case at the Umkomaas police station.”
George, 65, said other people in the area later told him they saw his son the night before with a friend.
His wife ended up going to the person’s home.
“The friend told my wife that he did not see Leon and that he was in Phoenix the day before.
“That’s when we became more concerned about our boy.”
George said friends and family began searching for Govender.
“While walking in the area, the man that I saw the previous day told me that someone saw a body in bushes in New Haven Eagle Road, which is about 15 minutes away from my home.
“My body started to shake.
“My sons and I went to the area to search but we did not find anything.
“I continued to pray for Leon’s well-being over the next few days.”
On June 29, a body was found in the same area.
“When we arrived there, we saw a crowd.
“By then, everyone knew Leon was missing so the police told my sons to take me home.
“Before I could leave, someone said the police walked out of the bushes with a body bag.
“I immediately knew it was Leon.
“My three sons saw Leon’s body in a shallow grave.
“The police told them that he was beaten with an object that could have been a hammer and that he was stabbed.
“A shirt was apparently found around his face. He was tortured.
“My wife and I were prevented from seeing his body because of the beating he took.
“It’s heartbreaking for a parent to know that people can inflict such harm on a child.
“My mind wanders, if he was beaten to death or if he was beaten to a pulp and left to die in pain in this bushy area."
Councillor Jane Naidoo, the IFP councillor in the area, said: “This family lives in my ward and for days we were in their home helping them search for Leon and consoling them. Its heartbreaking that his body was found the way it was in a shallow grave.
“Leon would never harm a soul.
“He came from a poor background and worked hard day and night for his family."
Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a provincial police spokesperson, said a case of murder was opened.
She said the victim appeared to have been assaulted.
Mbele said two suspects, Lazarus Pillay and Bavanandan Moodley, both 40, were arrested on Wednesday.
They appeared in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Mbele said the case was adjourned to Thursday.
Govender's cremation took place on Wednesday.
The Post