Tragic farewell: Slain journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu laid to rest on what would have been his 39th birthday

In a heart-wrenching ceremony, family, friends and supporters gathered in Kwamhlanga, Mpumalanga, to bid farewell to acclaimed journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu, whose life was tragically cut short.

Saturday, June 21 marks a poignant milestone, as it would have been his 39th birthday.

Meanwhile, his partner, Zodwa Precious Mdhluli, was laid to rest on Friday, June 20.

The couple, who went missing on February 18, 2025, had their bodies discovered in May, discarded in a secluded bush area in Rust de Winter, near the border of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Speaking to SABC at the funeral, Ndlovu's brother, Elvis Ndlovu, shared a moment of closure for the family, and said, "I can see my mother is also getting stronger; it's not like before. We have found closure knowing that we are laying him to rest."

Speaking to mourners, a family member told mourners that one of the suspects, Samuel Mogongwe, frequently visited Ndlovu’s home during the time the couple was still missing and kept asking whether they had been found," 

"I'm asking myself how he slept at night. He knew we were being investigated, I was also investigated. He never said anything. At least he could have returned them where he found them, and they would have been found sooner," she said.

The woman spoke about how the alleged mastermind betrayed the family and left them with profound hurt since the passing of Ndlovu and his partner.

"He has really hurt us; he was the mastermind; we won't be scared to speak. I ask myself how he embraced his wife knowing that he killed our children," she said.

Mogonwe, 41, worked as a taxi driver for the couple and it's alleged that he wanted to steal their car and operate his own taxi business.

His arrest followed an investigation that linked him to the couple's kidnapping through cellphone records

Police believe the couple was abducted from their KwaMhlanga home, robbed, and later killed.

A total of five suspects have been arrested and face charges of kidnapping, robbery, and double murder.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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