Africa-Press – South-Africa. A third body has been found in Macassar, outside of Cape Town, in under a week.
The latest body was discovered on Thursday afternoon, said police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg.
“Macassar police registered an inquest for investigation after the body of an unknown man was discovered by a passer-by, floating in a pool of water in Macassar Road… at about 16:30. The body had no visible injuries and a post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death,” said Twigg.
At the weekend, two bodies were discovered in the area.
A murder investigation was launched after a body was discovered on Sunday in an open field adjacent to Macassar Road, police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said.
He said:
On Saturday, the body of a woman was found floating in shallow water at Macassar Beach.
The cause of death is still to be determined, added Van Wyk.
While police have not confirmed foul play in two of the cases, Community Policing Forum chairperson Russel Williams said the incidents do speak to a lack of police visibility – especially in an area with a history as a dumping site for bodies.
“It’s a quiet area. If you stopped on the back road at night, no one would even notice. We need more visibility if we want to stop the bodies being dumped. The community needs to be aware and alert,” he added.
“Macassar is a big area with a growing population. Our police station can’t cover all if it. That’s why doing crime in this part of the world is quite easy. We need more manpower.”
Beaches along the False Bay coastline were a concern among communities and law enforcement agencies after a number of bodies had been dumped there over the years.
The areas most affected are Mnandi, Monwabisi and Macassar beaches, which are surrounded by Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Macassar.
One of the elements hampering law enforcement patrols, News24 reported, was a lack of lighting in the area.
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said that entire section of the coastline is an area “where [the dumping of bodies] has traditionally taken place”.
Smith added that there was a previous incident in which law enforcement officers came upon an execution in progress and were able to rescue the victim.
He said:
He said there has been talk about rolling out cameras and lighting, but there is no electricity and infrastructure in place, which would make the project a “sizeable investment”.
Williams also raised concerns about lighting in the area, saying that between load shedding and vandalism, street lighting is “on and off”.
News24 previously reported that ward councillor Peter Helfrich had petitioned President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene to solve the suburb’s load shedding problems.
Macassar’s load shedding continues even after scheduled times, with Helfrich claiming the power outages were a direct result of Eskom’s failing infrastructure and inability to protect it from vandalism.
Eskom said that cable theft and vandalism continues to be a burden for customers in affected areas.
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