eMBALENHLE – A gang of five men have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of an Eendracht man in eMbalenhle on 1 December.
The police made a breakthrough in the missing person’s case last weekend, 8 December when they followed up information that led them to Messrs Blessing Malatje (29) and Sydwell Sibiya (31).
The police immediately put a 72 hour activation plan in motion, deploying necessary resources in the form of human resources such as crime intelligence, detectives, Informers and other relevant role players.
Malatjie and Sibiya were arrested in Delmas and then led the cops to the murder scene at Bethal’s cemetary and to the place where they dumped Mr Kubheka’s body.
Bethal EMS and fire brigade were called in to retrieve the remains from a sewage ditch between Bethal and eMzinoni on Monday, 10 December.
It was apparently weighed down with a large stone.
Malatjie and Dibiya appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday 12 December.
Three other men between the ages of 22 and 32 have now also been arrested and Mr Kubheka’s car, a Ford Figo, has been recovered.
The trio will appear in court on Tuesday, 18 December, while Malatjie and Sibiya who were remanded in custody pending bail application, will reappear on Wednesday, 19 December.
The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, hailed the police and wished a speedy finalisation of the matter in court.
He said the suspects’ gruesome and heartless actions needed to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. General Zuma promised the community of Mpumalanga that the men and women in blue, will work tirelessly to stamp the authority of the state by squeezing the space in which criminals are operating, thereby ensuring that our people are not only safe, but most importantly, feel safe.
“Members of the community need to play an active role in ensuring that criminals are removed from society by not only giving information to the police, but coming forward to give statements that may assist in the finalisation of cases,” said General Zuma.
Also read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/ridge-times/129499/police-find-body-bethal-sewage-dam/
