Three arrested for murder of Maphumulo pensioner
'A witness tip-off led to the swift arrest of the first suspect, a 44-year-old man, in Woza, Maphumulo' - Captain Alex Thomson.
Maphumulo detectives have arrested three people suspected of the brutal murder of 67-year-old pensioner, Jabulani Gumede.
From interviews Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) conducted with family members, Gumede was understood to be pursuing criminal charges against a neighbour for theft and had since received death threats.
However, police could not confirm this and the investigation is ongoing.
Gumede went missing from his home in rural Maphumulo on Sunday, March 31. He lived alone.
According to RUSA spokesperson Prem Balram, Gumede’s girlfriend asked a neighbour to check in on him after she could not get hold of him on his cell phone.
“The neighbour reportedly discovered a pool of blood and his sleepwear in the yard. A window leading into the house was broken.
A rope from the washing line and a blanket were missing. The residence had been ransacked. Gumede’s cellphone rang continuously and went unanswered until Monday.
The phone was then diverted to voicemail and has remained switched off since,” said Balram.
Saps iLembe district spokesperson, Captain Alex Thomson, said although initial searches by the K9 Search and Rescue teams did not locate the body, a witness tip-off led to the swift arrest of the first suspect, a 44-year-old man, in Woza, Maphumulo.
He provided information about the murder and the location where the body was disposed of.
“The second suspect, a 43-year-old man, was apprehended in Mzinyathi, Inanda.
His vehicle, suspected of being used to transport the victim’s body, was seized by police. Efforts by detectives then led to the arrest of a third suspect, a 34-year-old woman,” said Thomson.
He said on Friday the suspects assisted in identifying the location where the body was initially left, but then moved to a more inaccessible area.
IPSS Search and Rescue along with various Saps Search and Rescue and Saps K9 Search and Rescue units had to draw on their rope skills to recover the body.
Photo: IPSS Search and Rescue.
“Because of the inaccessibility of the body and dangerous terrain, a rope system was set up to allow members to access and recover the body,” said IPSS Search and Rescue’s Samantha Meyrick.
The operation took several hours to complete, after which the body was handed over to Maphumulo Saps for processing and further investigation.
Major General Anthony Gopaul of the iLembe district praised the police for their tireless work and thorough investigation which led to the arrest of the three men.
Captain Thomson said the suspects were charged with murder and appeared in the Maphumulo Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Bail was opposed by the prosecutor.
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