Durban – A man has been arrested in connection with a body found buried in a shallow grave at an abandoned house in the Gedleza area, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday.

“The 30-year-old suspect was arrested on Thursday,” said Major Thulani Zwane. He was expected to appear in the Ubombo Magistrate’s Court on Monday, when he would face a murder charge. More charges could be added, said Zwane. While the KwaZulu-Natal social development department said the body was that of a 14-year-old girl, police said the female could have been older. Social development MEC Weziwe Thusi said her department and the police were still trying to establish the victim’s identity.

“As soon as (she) is identified and her family found, our social workers will be there to provide trauma counselling,” she said.

In a separate incident, two boys, aged nine and 10, were removed from the Mjindi community after they were suspected of having murdered a seven-year-old girl. Police said the girl was reported missing on Monday and her body was found on Tuesday.

“It was believed the boys buried the girl’s body during the day while the elders were out working in the fields, said Thusi. The children were being kept at a child and youth care centre for their own safety. “We have referred them to social workers because according to the Children’s Act, we cannot officially arrest them,” said Zwane.

The police were investigating a case of murder and were awaiting a post mortem which would determine whether the girl was raped. Thusi said her department’s social workers were working with the families involved. “This case is a sad reminder to parents and caregivers to keep an eye on their charges at all times,” she said. Sapa

Durban – The KZN education MEC and her top officials were due to meet on Friday to come up with a plan to help many of the 42 223 KZN pupils who failed matric to write supplementary exams or find places in schools to repeat their studies.

MEC Peggy Nkonyeni was adamant in an interview with the Daily News on Thursday that space would be found for failures despite a number of principals insisting they could not be accommodated as schools were bursting at the seams.

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Brits – No arrests have yet been made for the burning of four minibus taxis in Letlhakaneng, near Brits, North West police said on Thursday. The owner of the taxis was woken by a noise in the early hours of Tuesday and found them burning when he went to look, Sergeant Kealeboga Molale said. The motive for the attack was still unknown. A case of malicious damage to property was opened. Sapa

Cape Town – Ben Turok has had a long-standing relationship with the ANC, starting in the mid-1950s when he first joined the Congress of Democrats, a future ally of the party. The former ANC MP retired from Parliament last year after the elections.

He tells a story of a political force that has achieved a lot, but is at the same time standing on the brink of the stronghold it has spent the last 103 years building, collapsing as corruption and inequality run rampant.

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