EVANDER – Police hope that a post mortem scheduled for Tuesday, 20 November, will help them with a piece of the puzzle in the investigation of the two people found inside a Citi Golf that was found submerged in a furcate of the Unicor Dam on Friday, 16 November.
Divers of Delta 1 Rescue came across the submerged car while on a diving exercise under the bridge between Secunda and Unicor Dam that morning.
Sgt Sibusiso Mbuli, spokesman for the Evander Police, confirmed on Friday that the black VW Citi Golf was registered to Mr Siyabonga Nkabi (37), a senior artisan fitter at Sasol, who has been missing since 4 July.
It is probable that the bodies found in the car are those of Mr Nkabi and a friend, Ms Philiswe Precious Mtsweni (32), a worker at Symphony’s Coffee Shop.
Mr Nkabi and Ms Mtsweni were last seen together in Evander by Ms Mtsweni’s flatmate on the morning of 4 July.
They told her that they were going to the house of Ms Mtsweni’s parents, but they never arrived in Bethal.
Although Mr Nkabi was married and lived in Evander, it was common knowledge among their friends that he and Ms Mtsweni were an item.
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The severe stage of decomposition in which the bodies were found, is one of the reasons why the identities cannot yet be confirmed.
Delta 1’s divers, Messrs Andries Lee, Roland Nienaber and Morné van der Westhuizen, found the car in an upright position in the water with the windows closed.
Mr Lee said on social media he believes God has sent his team for a reason to that specific spot for their practice session.
The police were called to the scene as well as JTR tow-in services who pulled out the vehicle from under the bridge.
Everything on the car seemed in tact except for the bumpers.
A decision was made on the scene not to open the vehicle, but to take it to the morgue where the police investigators could assess the car and the bodies.
The paramedics of ER24 went with the car to the morgue to issue a death declaration.
StratconRisk who specialises in tracking of vehicles, were asked by Ms Mtsweni’s family in July to trace the missing couple.
With the help of the police and a technology specialist, evidence on the activities of the couple’s SIM cards, as well as their handsets’ IMEI numbers, indicated that the phones were stagnant and not at all in use.
This indicated no sign of life.
In the meanwhile, speculation is rife on Facebook as to the cause of the vehicle ending up in the dam and remaining there unnoticed for months.
Word of mouth implied that Mr Nkabi might have been assassinated, by either a disgruntled family member of even a gang from eMbalenhle.
“The investigation is still in the beginning phase, but murder has not been ruled out yet,” said Sgt Mbuli.
Also read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/ridge-times/128406/breaking-news-diving-exercise-unicor-dam-turns-crime-scene-body-found-submerged-car/
