Police on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast have made the horrific discovery of a mass grave containing around 100 bodies, and their tip-off has come from a rather unlikely source.

There isn’t much fun to be had with this story so let’s get to the nitty-gritty. The bodies were discovered near to what were former hostels on a farm in Dududu, currently owned by sugar giants Illovo. Over to Times Live:

The farms in the area, about 70km from Durban, were known for their use of prison labour during the apartheid era.

Private forensic investigator David Klatzow, who has been briefed on the find, said time was of the essence…

Klatzow said if the skeletons were those of prisoners there would be records of which prison they were taken from and when they were booked out and in.

“Importantly with a mass grave like this, the cause of death must be found. It is vital bones are properly preserved so it can be determined whether violence was used…

This is very suspicious. There has to be a paper trail. There have to be records as 100 people simply don’t drop off the planet without a trace”.

Klatzow also had this to say to IOL:

He said a number of unconfirmed reports of mass graves, filled with victims of “hit squads”, had emerged in recent years ago but no evidence had been found.

Local chief Mjokwana Mqadi said there had long been stories about killings on the farm. “We would hear that people were slaughtered on that farm and sometimes prisoners would escape and run through our area in their escape.”

So how did these graves come to be found? Apparently a sangoma approached provincial government after repeated hauntings from spirits and told them of her visions.

There is sure to be much more to come with regards this story so we’ll keep you posted as news breaks.

[sources:timeslive&iol]