By Omphile Maebane and Zanele Makola
On Thursday, May 8, the search for missing community journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Precious Mdhluli, took a tragic turn when remains thought to be those of the couple were discovered during a police investigation. The couple disappeared under suspicious circumstances and have been missing since February 18th 2025.
Ndlovu, the founder of Capital Live SA 99.0 FM situated in Denlyn Mall, Mamelodi, was last seen leaving work, while Mdhluli was last seen at their home in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga.
General Fannie Masemola, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), told journalists that the two people’s remains will now be subjected to rigorous testing to determine their identities. “The process with the human remains we have found, they would be taken to the pathologists and we will take DNA, process it with the closest relatives, it might be one or two relatives to determine the identity of those remains. Then we can confirm that it is indeed them or not,” explained Masemola, who was with the Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
According to Masemola, one of the accused individuals pointed out the location of the remains. “One of the suspects did point out, not right there, but close enough. We then examined the area till we discovered the remains,” he stated.
Following a protracted and exhaustive investigation by a multi-disciplinary team of law enforcement agencies, the human remains were discovered on Thursday in Rust de Winter in Limpopo. Four people have been arrested as a result of this endeavour and are presently under police custody. The fifth individual arrested is reportedly a minor.
The five arrested suspects are set to appear in the KwaMhlanga Magistrate’s Court on Friday. The matter was postponed on Wednesday after the African Media and Communicators Forum (AMCF) and the National Press Club (NPC) filed an application for media outlets to give live coverage of the court proceedings. “We have hired a lawyer to represent the media houses and the lawyer was ready to proceed,” said Elijah Mhlanga, chairperson of the AMCF.
Just last week, IOL reported that the AMCF and the NPC had increased the reward for information regarding the missing couple from R50 000 to R100 000, while urging authorities to act.
Mdhluli’s son Treasure, told media briefing that he is grateful 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 grateful for all the support that we are receiving from everyone,” he added.
