Another body has been found dumped in Macassar this week, bringing the total number of dead bodies left to rot in the area to three.
Ward councillor Peter Helfrich said killers are using the power crisis in the area to carry out their crimes and hide victims' bodies.
‘’At the weekend, a fisherman discovered a woman's body floating in shallow water at Macassar beach. From what we understand, the body was handed over to pathology forensic services to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death,’’ he said.
A second body was found in bushes alongside Macassar Road the next day.
Helfrich said the victim was stabbed in the face and neck with a broken bottle, while a second man's body was found on Thursday.
‘’At this stage, we do not know if any of these individuals are from the area or if they may have been murdered somewhere else and dumped here,’’ he said.
Helfrich said the discoveries are made soon after load shedding or extended power outages.
‘’Macassar has been facing a power crisis, and criminals take advantage of this. It is not the first time bodies have been found dumped here. Macassar seems to be becoming a dumping hotspot for bodies," he said.
Helfrich said residents are fed up with the constant power outages.
‘’Residents have been putting up with constant outages in the last 12 months,’’ he said.
In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Helfrich said ward 109 is supplied with electricity directly from Eskom. He explained that power outages are a direct result of failing Eskom infrastructure or a failure by Eskom to protect the infrastructure from vandals in certain hotspots.
‘’Last month, the substation that provides tens of thousands of residents in our ward with electricity was vandalised by criminals. This is the only source of power for the residents in our ward, and it is extremely worrying that no security officers are placed at this substation. We are also faced with a situation where the only cable supplying the ward with power has failed many times over the last 12 months, leaving our ward in darkness, sometimes for days on end,’’ he said.
IOL