Durban - The body of a Durban woman who had been missing for more than a week has been found buried in a shallow grave in Pietermaritzburg.
A 26-year-old man allegedly known to Phumzile Precious Mkhize was arrested in Chesterville on Saturday and charged with her murder. Four others also arrested have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Mkhize, 42, a Skills Education Training Authorities employee in KwaMashu, was last seen with a 26-year-old man on June 6, when they left together in her car.
Her family reported her missing on Sunday, June 8, after not hearing from her that weekend.
Isolezwe, sister paper of the Daily News, reported last week that police had found the car with bloodstains on it last Monday. The occupants were arrested.
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, confirmed on Sunday that Mkhize had been with one of the suspects on the night she was last seen.
“The suspect met the victim… at her place of employment in KwaMashu.
“They left her office together in her car. On Sunday her family realised that she was missing and reported her missing to police.”
Naicker said police tracked her VW Polo to Sweetwaters, where it was recovered.
“After further investigation detectives were able to identify who was behind her disappearance.”
The investigations were a joint operation between Plessislaer and Inanda detectives as well as the Tactical Response Team.
Naicker said the murder suspect was expected to appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
“Investigations reveal that she was murdered shortly after she left work,” he said.
Mkhize’s sister, Pinky Dlamini, said the family would not be commenting on the matter until they had identified the body at the mortuary on Monday.
All she would say was that the family had learnt of the death on Sunday morning.
Daily News