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- A 34-year-old man who sold school feeding scheme parcels died by suicide on the day he was supposed to point out the buyer.
- Police have opened an inquest and a manhunt is underway for the buyer.
- The owner of the feeding scheme company said he lost about R215 000 worth of food parcels.
A 34-year-old man who sold food meant for the beneficiaries of a school feeding scheme died by suicide on the day he was supposed to point out who the buyer was.
The feeding scheme company owner found Ayanda Makgati Mphakane's body in his Polokwane home on Wednesday morning.
The owner, who declined to be identified, said he lost about R215 000 worth of food parcels.
"We had agreed that I would pick him up in the morning on Wednesday so he would show us the buyer. He even confessed that he sold it to a Pakistani man who owned a tuck shop in Mokopane, Limpopo.
"When I went to his home, I tried knocking to no answer. That's when I saw the bathroom window slightly open. When I opened it wide, I saw his body. I rushed to security to inform them and called the police, who arrived," the owner said.
The owner said he was still in disbelief.
He added:
The man has been running the company since 2015 and it was the first time that such an incident happened to him.
He said Mphakane would usually help him with deliveries to schools in and around the area but was not his permanent employee.
"Mphakane assisted me on awkward days. He would normally assist me in receiving stock from the supplier when I was not around or dispatch the food to the school on my behalf."
He added that he was in another province for a funeral when the food was stolen.
"The food had arrived and was kept in a warehouse in Polokwane until it was to be delivered to a school on Monday.
"Because he has access to the stock, Mphakane sent me an SMS asking me if we could deliver the stock on Tuesday instead, which I refused."
The owner added:
After returning from the funeral, he headed to the warehouse in Polokwane where the stock was stored.
"When I opened the door, the stock was not there, nor was Mphakane. I tried calling him, but his phone was off.
"When I finally managed to get hold of him, he [told me], 'I have done something wrong.'"
According to the owner, Mphakane admitted selling the parcels.
"I questioned him on how he could give out stock that did not belong to him or me. I told him I wanted to see who this person was and that I wanted them to bring back the food."
He battled to get hold of Mphakane the Tuesday and went in search of him.
He found Mphakane at his parents' home in Ga-Mphahlele, Limpopo.
He said:
The owner said they agreed to return to Polokwane so that Mphakane could point out the buyer on Wednesday morning.
Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi said the body of a man was found inside a bathroom at around 07:45 at a rental residence in Hans van Rensburg Street in Polokwane.
"Polokwane police are investigating an inquest case following the theft of food parcels worth thousands of rand, intended to feed school learners around the Mankweng policing area," he said.
Seabi added that a manhunt was underway for the person who bought the feeding scheme food.
