Severed Hands Found in Verulam Confirmed to Be Fake, Update Sparks Relief and Hilarious Reactions

• State pathologists at the Ethekwini District Medico Legal Mortuary confirmed that the hands were fake
• The discovery of the limbs initially raised questions and sparked wild conspiracy theories online
• South Africans are relieved, but also have shared hilarious reactions after the pathologist's confirmation

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

KWAZULU-NATAL – A pair of human hands found in a residential area in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on 13 August 2025, are fake.

The severed human hands, which were discovered in Trenance Park, Verulam, have been confirmed to be props, raising more questions about their discovery.

The initial discovery sent shockwaves through the country as many found the incident to be extremely disturbing.

What are the hands made of?

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Following its discovery, uniformed officers and detectives from the South African Police Service conducted an investigation at the scene before transporting the limbs to the Ethekwini District Medico Legal Mortuary. It was there that State Pathologists confirmed that the limbs, though very realistic, were made of rubber.

Where were the hands discovered?

The props, as they’ve now been confirmed to be, were discovered by a newspaper distributor in Trenance Park, Verulam. The hands were wrapped in a blood-stained cloth, near the boundary wall of a primary school.

Members of Reaction Unite South Africa, who were called out to the scene, began searching the area for a human body or any other remains. While they found none, they did find what appeared to be an animal tongue nearby.

How did South Africans react?

While social media users are relieved that no one was brutally murdered or mutilated, the update has raised more questions and hilarious responses.

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Some people claimed that they knew all along it could not be real, while others shared their original theories about what happened.

Sonja Stander said:

“I just feel like we've got to know the story now. Totally invested. You could see in the morning posts that they were too "good-looking" to be real. But what about the tongue?🤣”

Mariam Ismail asked:

“What about the other part they found? That definitely isn't a tongue😐.”

Muleya Vhaleya LG claimed:

“I could easily tell from the first article that those were plastic hands. How could hands maintain their original colour after being cut off🤣?”

Prilene Kistnasami joked:

“Gosh. Whoever placed that, there are no missing screws; they are missing the whole toolbox😜.”

Malbee Eugene Mthembu-mpungose questioned:

“🤔 What if it was a ruse to draw the attention of the law enforcement officers to the scene, while a real crime was happening somewhere around the area? And yes, I watch too many movies🤣, but I am also an overthinker.”

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Dwayne Garette Govender joked:

“Whoever did this won, hands down🤣.”

Reshma Reddy recalled:

“Lmfao, and here I thought they were having an affair as per our Facebook investigators🤣. So much for that eyy😂.”

Thirusha Chetty joked:

“I'm sure SAPS could do with an extra hand to get some handy work done.”

Rachael Sigamani stated:

"Wow, that's a relief. As funny as it is, thank God it wasn’t a human hand.”

Gonum Rengasamy added:

“It may be a joke to some, but living in the community and seeing that brought fear to the people. We have two high schools and two primary schools in the area, and it was a worry for people because kids walk past that place daily. Thank God it was not real human hands. And to the person who did it. What joy did it bring you to put the community in shock? Please grow up.”

Muz N Rookz said:

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“These pranks are really getting out of hand.”

Sonja Koekemoer:

“I didn't eat my lunch because of this🤢.”

Avant Samdhan joked:

“So, it was just second-hand props.”

Other stories involving missing body parts

While the KZN hands turned out to be fake, South Africa is no stranger to horrific stories where victims were dismembered.

In June 2025, Briefly News reported that a 14-year-old girl's body was found mutilated in a veld in Durban Deep, Roodepoort.

On 1 August 2025, police arrested a traditional healer after he was found with human heads believed to be those of a mother and daughter who were brutally murdered.

On 8 August, police arrested a Mozambican national after he was found with the organs of a 20-year-old woman who was last seen alive in 2023.

Source: Briefly News