TONGA – Police are yet to make further arrests connected to the double-murder case of Mr Andries Sithole and Ms Dalita Mula who were killed in Block B on February 17.
Mr Mxolisi Shongwe (30), who is in police custody, is the only alive suspect left. Three others linked to case have been killed by angry community members. The first accomplice was brutally killed by an angry mob on the day of the crime and the two others’ death followed over the next couple of months.
Shongwe has appeared in the Tonga Magistrate’s Court several times where he has been denied bail since his arrest on March 3. He is accused of murdering Sithole and Mula in their sleep. He is also accused of robbery and rape, after he and his co-accused raped the couple’s niece.
Shongwe was arrested in Middelplaas, a township 30km from where the crime was committed. According to eyewitnesses, the accused confessed to having fled from Block B to his aunt’s place in Middelplaas after hearing that the community was looking for him and that his co-accused had been murdered. Police are confident they have the right suspect and a strong case.
According to the local police spokesman, Lt Ntomfuthi Mashiane, Shongwe was arrested by a dedicated task team, and there was enough evidence linking him to the scene. Mashiane stated more arrests were imminent and cases of vigilantism and murder were being investigated.
Shongwe’s last court appearance was on April 16 and is expected back in court on May 12.
