Police are investigating the circumstances that led to the death of a KwaZulu-Natal school principal after he was allegedly visited by people wearing police uniforms.

"Vusi Humphrey Mbatha (53) had no visible injuries on his body and there was no indication of a struggle on the scene of the crime, however we will be opening a murder docket for investigation purposes," said Senior Superintendent Jay Naicker on Wednesday.

The body of Mbatha, the principal of Elandsberg Primary School, was found in his home in Umsinga in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Tuesday immediately after people wearing police uniforms had left his house.

Naicker said members of the SA Police Service (SAPS), the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) and forensic pathologists had visited the scene to establish the cause of Mbatha's death.

He said witnesses had told the police that unknown people had entered Mbatha's homestead and knocked on doors just after 10pm on Tuesday.

"According to witnesses the deceased came out of his house and enquired who they were searching for. The deceased was alone at that time and it is not known what transpired.

"After a while these people left the victim's home."

Mbatha's family members found him in his bed not breathing, he said.

"A high-level police delegation from the provincial commissioner's office, including head of detectives in the province, Commissioner Pat Brown, visited the scene.

"The aim of the delegation was to ensure the necessary resources are available to ensure a thorough investigation as well as to ensure full co-operation with the ICD," said Naicker.

He said a forensic pathologist was flown to the scene by the SAPS to ensure the cause of death was established and the crucial examination of the crime scene was carried out.

KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner Bongani Ntanjana said he would make sure the police co-operated fully with the ICD to get to the bottom of the incident.

"I have tasked our detectives to ensure a thorough investigation. We know which units are deployed in that area and it will be easy to establish if these were police members that visited Mbatha before his death."