Breaking news:
Investigations into the murder of Rofhiwa Tshifhango (38) whose body was found hanging from a tree on the farm Spitzkop near Ermelo on Tuesday 29 November lead to a dramatic turn of events when the 32-year-old female companion of the deceased was arrested on Saturday 31 December on charges of conspiriacy to commit murder.
The couple have two children together.
Police spokeman for Mpumalanga, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the arrest of the woman, who is suspected of masterminding the murder, comes after three suspects aged between 24 and 32 were arrested in Kriel on Thursday, 29 December in connection with the murder
Items believed to have been stolen from the deceased’s house were found in their possession.
The investigating team subsequently learned that one of the suspects had been arrested in Bethal on 3 December after being found in possession of a stolen vehicle and for illegal possession of a firearm.
All four suspects appeared in the Ermelo Magistrates court on Tuesday, 3 January 2017 on charges of murder, conspiracy, attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.
Tshifhango’s body was discovered on Tuesday 29 November last year on the farm Spitskop, approximately 9 kilometers outside Ermelo.
A farmer passing by on the Middelplaat dirt road spotted Tshifhango’s friend who had been shot and beaten, lying next to the roadside near the veld where Tshifhango’s body was also discovered. Tshifhango had been strangled and his body hung in a tree.
Both men were employed by the Department of Public Works in Ermelo at the time of the incident.
Initial investigations suggested that the victims had been abducted from Tshifhango’s house in Davel Street in Ermelo the previous evening.
Two armed men had apparently entered the house, held the victims at gun point, assaulted them and ransacked the house before loading them into the back of the Tshifhango’s vehicle, an Audi A4.
The deserted vehicle was found on a farm road near the N11 between Ermelo and Hendrina approximately five kilometers from where the victims were discovered.
