Johannesburg – Police have made a breakthrough in the Thembisile Yende murder case and have arrested a 43-year-old man.
Allegations are that the man, David Ngwenya, is an Eskom employee too but police have declined to confirm that.
Ngwenya was arrested in Carletonville last week and charged with Yende's premeditated murder. He appeared in the Springs Magistrate's Court this morning.
Police spokesman Captain Johannes Ramphora told The Star that Ngwenya's arrest on Thursday comes after extensive police work to track him down.
"I don't want to divulge many details at this point as we don't want to alert the other suspects that we are pursuing," Ramphora added.
Yende was found dead in her office at an Eskom plant in Selcourt, Springs, last month after she had been missing for almost two weeks. Her body had started decomposing when she was found with a black plastic bag wrapped around her head.
Asked whether the suspect was an Eskom employee Ramphora said: "That I also cannot confirm as the investigation is still in its infancy."
But a reliable source close to proceedings said Ngwenya was an Eskom manager based in Germiston.
Thembisile's brother Mboneni Yende told The Star that the police had not informed them that Ngwenya was appearing in court, saying he only received an SMS that an arrest had been made
On Facebook, Mboneni expressed joy at the breakthrough in his sister's murder case, saying "the wheels of justice are starting to turn".
Ngwenya has been remanded in custody and will make his next appearance on June 26.
@khayakoko88
The Star