Cane harvesters made a grim discovery on Tuesday morning after stumbling upon the body of a man dumped in a sugar cane plantation in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) was alerted by a local farmer shortly before 7am. Upon arrival, RUSA officers were directed to a section of the plantation located along Jabu Ngcobo Road.
Officers navigated approximately 150 metres into the field, where they found the body of an unidentified man partially concealed among the cane stalks. According to RUSA, the victim had sustained multiple injuries consistent with being beaten and hacked with a panga. Rigor mortis had set in, suggesting the man had been killed hours before discovery.
An orange tow rope was also found beneath the body, adding to suspicions that the victim had been murdered elsewhere and later dumped at the site.
The motive behind the killing remains unclear, and the identity of the deceased is yet to be confirmed. Police have opened a murder investigation.