Pretoria – A Moroccan consul was found dead in a pool of blood at his guesthouse in Pretoria, his embassy said on Tuesday.

Police are still investigating how and why Fatmi Noureddine was killed. An autopsy is being carried out.

“The police are very cautious” a clearly distraught diplomatic colleague told AFP. “It has to be a robbery.”

“He did not turn up for work at the normal time, which seemed strange because he was always on time. His phone was off.”

Colleagues went to Noureddine’s guesthouse, on climbing the stairs to his residence and “found him in a pool of blood”, the official said.

A cellphone was said to be missing from the scene, but it was not known if he had any money at home.

AFP