The shocking discovery of skeletal remains of a woman who was buried in a shallow grave in a shack has sent shivers around Lakeside extension in Orange Farm.
Former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana star Bennet Chenene has confirmed to Sunday World that the remains, discovered on Sunday, belonged to his sister Nomvula Chenene.
In February, Sunday World reported that the family of Nomvula was devastated after she went missing while partying with friends in December 2022.
At the time, Bennet made a passionate plea to the public to help find Nomvula.
At the time of her disappearance on December 10, Nomvula, 28, was a member of the LGBTQI community. Her disappearance sparked fears among her family that her life might have been cut short in a hate crime, possibly perpetuated by anti-lesbian crusaders.
Nomvula’s decomposed remains were discovered a short distance from her home.
“It is sad that we had to go and identify my sister who was murdered and got buried in the shack,” said a teary Bennet.
“I identified the body and it was her mortals buried in that shallow grave inside the shack. We are devastated as the family by this gruesome discovery.
“We demand answers on what had really happened to her to be murdered and buried in a shack. We have stated before that we feared Nomvula could have been murdered and became a statistic of lesbians who get killed because of their sexual orientation.
“This is very painful and sad for our family.”
It is understood that the community confronted the person they suspected to have been behind the murder, and he allegedly confessed to the murder.
It is alleged that the new girlfriend of the suspect blew the whistle when she discovered the grave under the bed. She then alerted the community about the suspect’s whereabouts.
“After a woman told us that there was a person buried in the shack by her boyfriend, we approached the suspect and he confessed to have buried the remains of a woman in a shallow grave,” said one of the residents.
Queen Mthembu, another lesbian from Lakeside extension, also vanished in June 2022 and was later found murdered and dumped in an open veld.
Mthembu’s throat had been slit with a sharp object and parts of her body had been burnt.
Jomo Tsotetsi, owner of Vaal Monateng Cafe Lifestyle, one of the places Nomvula had gone to before disappearing on her way home, said it is heartbreaking that she was found dead.
“We had high hopes that Nomvula would be found alive and reunited with her family, however, she was found deceased, which is something we did not expect,” said Tsotetsi.
“We put our trust in the police to investigate this matter fully and get to the bottom of this. Whoever is responsible for this heinous act of murder should face the might of the law.”
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said the police acted on information received and upon arrival at a certain house, police dogs sniffed out the grave and the remains of a woman were exhumed.
“A 34-year-old suspect was arrested after a decomposed body was found buried in a shallow grave at Lakeside extension in Orange Farm,” Masondo said.
“Police are waiting for the DNA and postmortem results that will confirm the identity of the remains and the cause of death,”
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