The police have launched a manhunt for a man who allegedly killed his girlfriend and buried her body underneath his bed. The incident happened at Pola Park squatter camp, near Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, three weeks ago. Vuyokazi Duyo (32) was last seen with his boyfriend before she went missing.

BRUTALLY KILLED

Several neighbours who spoke during her memorial service said that on the night of her disappearance, they heard a lot of screaming coming from the boyfriend's shack. It's also alleged that the boyfriend told people the following morning that he and Vuyokazi had an argument she left saying she was going back home. The neighbours became more suspicious when Vuyokazi could not be found for days, with her family saying she never came back home. The neighbours then decided to go into the boyfriend's shack to investigate only to find her body buried in a shallow grave under the man' bed. Before the police could come to the scene, it's alleged that the man burnt his shack to conceal the evidence, burning Vuyokazi's body in the process. Vuyokazi's cousin Ayema Jacobs said that the family was still in disbelief that she was no more. "It is hard to believe the brutal manner in which she was killed. She was burnt beyond recognition, the only thing we could recognise was the shoes she was wearing. Her stomach was cut open and the head was burnt beyond recognition," Jacobs said.

MANHUNT FOR THE SUSPECT

Vuyokazi has still not being buried as the police need to conduct DNA to confirm the burnt body belonged to her. "What's hurts us the most before the neighbours put out the fire, the boyfriend ran for his life as the community wanted to kill him too. Now the police can't find him," she said. Ward councillor Bongani Mani confirmed the incident and that the suspect was still at large. "We are deeply saddened that we have heartless people in our communities who are still able to commit horrendous crimes. We plead with the police to arrest the culprit so that he can spend time in jail," he said. EC police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg said police in Gqeberha are investigating an inquest following a shack fire which claimed the life of a female on Saturday. "It is alleged that police responded to a complaint of a fire at a house (shack) in Pola Park. On arrival the fire department had already extinguished the fire and the body of an unknown female was found. She was burnt beyond recognition. The cause of the fire is unknown and the investigation is ongoing. Police are also seeking the communities' assistance in tracing the owner of the shack, Mayven Afrikaner, whom they believe can assist with the investigation," she said.