Luyanda’s sister, Sithabile Cele, said the family was contacted by police on Monday and asked to go to Point police station. When they got there, police explained to them they had found Luyanda’s body near Durban’s popular Metro Lodge, in South Beach, in the early hours of Saturday.
“They said she was found without her lower lip and tongue. We are told that the police are still going to be conducting a postmortem to check what else was removed from her body and if she was raped. We are still confused about how she got there and what could have happened to her,” said Cele.
She said her sister did not normally go out after work and always slept at home.
She added the family was going through a difficult time, with her mother unable to even speak.
“It’s bad. We are really heartbroken. We are still going to wait for the postmortem to be completed before the family starts to plan. We are hoping that the police will arrest the suspect soon so that we can also understand what happened.”
Mutilated body found of missing Durban graduate who told family she was going for drinks after work
'She always slept at home and did not often go out', says broken-hearted sister
Image: Supplied
The mutilated body of a 24-year-old Durban woman who had started an internship at the eThekwini municipality last year was found on Monday, three days after she was last seen leaving her office.
Luyanda Cele’s body was found dumped on one of Durban's busy streets after she was last seen in the CBD on Friday afternoon.
A missing person's poster was published on social media, saying her colleagues reported she had left the office after work on Friday.
Luyanda, who was an occupational health and safety intern at the municipality, allegedly told one of her sisters she would be home late as she was going out for drinks after work.
“The details of the person she went for drinks with are unknown,” read the missing person's poster.
Image: Supplied
Luyanda’s sister, Sithabile Cele, said the family was contacted by police on Monday and asked to go to Point police station. When they got there, police explained to them they had found Luyanda’s body near Durban’s popular Metro Lodge, in South Beach, in the early hours of Saturday.
“They said she was found without her lower lip and tongue. We are told that the police are still going to be conducting a postmortem to check what else was removed from her body and if she was raped. We are still confused about how she got there and what could have happened to her,” said Cele.
She said her sister did not normally go out after work and always slept at home.
She added the family was going through a difficult time, with her mother unable to even speak.
“It’s bad. We are really heartbroken. We are still going to wait for the postmortem to be completed before the family starts to plan. We are hoping that the police will arrest the suspect soon so that we can also understand what happened.”
Cele said her sister had recently graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal before joining the municipality last year.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Const Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed the incident and said Point SAPS are investigating a case of murder.
Ngcobo said it is alleged that a body of a woman was found lying in an alley between two buildings. The body was later identified as that of Luyanda by her family. Reports indicated she was last seen on Friday.
“The motive for the killing is unknown,” said Ngcobo.
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