
Suspects lead police to discovery of human remains believed to be of missing journalist and partner
After being reported missing for three months, their families will soon attain closure.
The police confirmed to have been directed to a quiet rural location, Rust De Winter by one of the five suspects that were arrested earlier this week.
The suspects have been charged with hijacking and kidnapping the couple.
The National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola said in order to determine that the remains belonged to Ndlovu and Mdluli DNA tests will have to be conducted.
Read more | Gogo Maweni pleads not guilty to assault charges
'The area where the remains were found was pointed out by suspects as the place where they left the pair. The human remains we have found will be taken to pathologists and we will then take DNA samples to match them with the closest relatives, it might need one or two relatives to determine the identity of those remains,'he said.
The couple was last seen in February, Ndlovu in particular was last seen by his colleagues on the 18th around 6 pm leaving work, since then none of the partners could be traced or located.
A week ago, Media and Communicators Forum (AMCF) and the National Press Club (NPC) urged the police to broaden the search for the missing couple whilst announcing that they were increasing the reward for any information about the missing couple from R50,000 to R100,000.
On Wednesday the police visited the families of the missing couple and gave them updates on the progress and intensity of their investigations.
During the briefing, Mdhluli's son Treasure expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support from the time his mother vanished with the journalist.
'As a family, we do believe that we are close to the end, and justice will prevail. For now, we are really grateful for all the support that we are receiving from everyone.
Read more | 24 year-old EL man sentenced for raping his grandmother
The five suspects appeared at the kwaMhlanga Magistrates court Friday. This after the matter was postponed on Wednesday due to an application brought by the African Media and Communicators Forum and National Press Club on behalf of the media seeking permission to cover the proceedings.
'We have hired a lawyer to represent the media houses, and the lawyer is ready to proceed,' said Elijah Mhlanga, chairperson of the African Media and Communicators Forum.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
29 minutes ago
- New York Times
Crime Is Plummeting. We Can Do More.
America is in the midst of a historic decline in crime. In 2023, murders fell 10 percent, which was then the largest annual drop since reliable records began in 1960. Last year, the country very likely set another record, with a 15 percent drop. This year, murders are on track to set yet another record, having fallen about 20 percent in major cities. Shootings, robberies and thefts have also plummeted. These declines have erased the spike in crime that occurred during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the murder rate in 2025 could end up being lower than it has been at any other point in at least 65 years. In terms of violent crime, modern America may be safer than it has been in decades, based on data collected by the crime analyst Jeff Asher. The U.S. murder rate is on track to fall to a 65-year low in 2025 12 murders per 100,000 people 10 Covid pandemic 8 2020 6.7 6 4 2025 4.0 (estimate) 2 0 1960 1970 2000 1980 2020 1990 2010 Sources: F.B.I.; Real-Time Crime Index The U.S. murder rate is on track to fall to a 65-year low in 2025 12 murders per 100,000 people 10 8 2020 6.7 Covid pandemic 6 4 2025 4.0 (estimate) 2 0 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2020 2010 Sources: F.B.I.; Real-Time Crime Index Crime is down in Washington, D.C., too, contrary to President Trump's claims this week that it is a hotbed of violence. Although the city's murder rate remains far too high, it is now comparable to what it was before the pandemic. America's leaders typically rush to move on from a crisis once it is over, but we want to pause on the recent surge of violent crime and its reversal. We see two central lessons from this period that can help policymakers reduce crime even further and make progress against other societal ills. The first lesson is the importance of public trust and stability. Think back, as unpleasant as it may be, to 2020: The virus was spreading. People could not visit family members and friends. They could not go to churches, libraries or restaurants. Children were stuck at home and saw their friends only on screens. Weddings, funerals and graduations were canceled. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


New York Times
29 minutes ago
- New York Times
‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow' Review: Strangling Democracy
We're on a street in a cosmopolitan city, cars whizzing by. A woman's voice calmly addresses us. 'The world you are about to see no longer exists,' she says. 'None of us knew what was about to happen.' That is Julia Loktev's voice. It's October 2021, and she has arrived in Moscow to make a film about two young Russian journalists, Sonya Groysman and Olga Churakova, after reading an article in The New York Times about their podcast 'Hello, You Are a Foreign Agent.' They've been put on the a list of 'foreign agents' by the Russian Ministry of Justice, which means they have to register every personal expenditure with the government and append a disclaimer to everything they broadcast or publish — even personal Instagram posts — or face fines, even jail time. Their only infraction, so to speak, is not reporting the news in the manner that the Russian government would prefer. Loktev, who was born in St. Petersburg and immigrated to the United States when she was 9, thought this might make for a good documentary. History tells us that labeling independent journalists as adversaries of their own country tends not to end there. So with the help of her friend Anna Nemzer, a journalist at the then-Moscow-based independent news station TV Rain, she befriended a number of other journalists in the city. Most were in their 20s; most were women; most worked at TV Rain. Loktev went to Moscow and started filming. What none of them knew — what none of them could have possibly known — was that within four months, Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That has had many horrendous consequences, and one is that it provides a useful pretext for the near-total shutdown of Russian independent media; journalists could now be labeled 'internal enemies' for reporting on the war in terms counter to the government's narrative. Almost all of these journalists would flee the country, fearing prison or worse. And Loktev's film would evolve into a shattering portrayal of an authoritarian government using misinformation, isolation and war to control its citizens. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


News24
30 minutes ago
- News24
Three known hijackers killed in shootout with police in Philippi
Three suspected hijackers were shot dead in a shootout with police in Philippi. Hours earlier, police discovered the body of a woman inside a hijacked taxi in Philippi East. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate is probing the matter. Three known hijackers were killed in a gun battle with police on Tuesday night in Kosovo, Philippi, hours after Nyanga officers found the body of a woman in a hijacked vehicle that operated as a taxi. According to police insiders, five armed men hijacked the vehicle while the woman was a passenger inside. The driver was forced out, and the woman was robbed of her belongings before the vehicle was abandoned in Highfield Road. Her body was found in the abandoned car. She had sustained a gunshot wound to her mouth, the sources said. READ | Kidnapped Cape Town businessman found dead in Delft A tip-off later led police to the Kosovo informal settlement, where three people opened fire on them from inside a shack. Police returned fire, killing them. According to another source, several people pointed out the three men when the woman's body was found. 'They were terrorising the community,' the person said. 'Police acted a few minutes after getting the information, and it was like war, with the gunshots ringing till midnight.' One of the deceased was identified by insiders as Aphiwe Ndondashe, who was reportedly wanted for multiple murders and attempted murders in Philippi. Nyanga Community Policing Forum member Dumsani Qwebe praised the police for their action and said 'we cannot continue living in fear because of criminals'. Qwebe said: Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) was probing the matter. IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping confirmed the incident and added that 'IPID can confirm that it has registered the case in question, and our investigation is in its infancy stage'.