Mineshaft remains still unclaimed

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THE REMAINS of about four people that were discovered at a disused mine shaft in Gwanda in September last year are still lying at Gwanda Provincial Hospital

THE REMAINS of about four people that were discovered at a disused mine shaft in Gwanda in September last year are still lying at Gwanda Provincial Hospital as they have not been claimed for burial.

ALBERT NCUBE OWN CORRESPONDENT

Hospital sources said the remains that were stashed in empty cement bags are still in the hospital mortuary.

“The remains are still at the hospital mortuary. Under normal circumstances, if bodies cannot be identified, it is the duty of the Social Welfare department to engage a funeral parlour to bury them,” the source said.

However, Matabeleland South provincial medical director William Busumani denied that there were any unidentified remains at the hospital.

“I have spoken to the hospital’s administrator who is saying they don’t have a record of the human remains,” he said.

When the remains were discovered last year, national police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi indicated that some specimen would be sent to forensic experts to help in identifying them.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Nyathi said he was in a meeting and asked this reporter to call after 30 minutes,but he did not answer his phone later on.

Mineworkers at Bina Mine just outside Gwanda town made the grisly find four months ago at the disused mineshaft.

The mine is located about 4km from the town centre at Judas Farm just behind Jacaranda low-density suburb.

Human skulls and bones were found along with black plastic bags, red and grey blankets, ropes, wires, strings, shoes and clothes.

One of the victims was suspected to have been a woman as women’s clothing was also found at the shaft.

The findings suggested that the victims could have been already dead before they were thrown down the 26m deep shaft.

Some bones, which were suspected to be part of human legs, were still tied together — an indication that the bodies were tied before being stashed into the cement bags and thrown down the shaft.

Some mineworkers suspected that the killings could have been politically motivated.