Community radio journalist Aserie Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Precious Mdhluli have been missing since February 18.
Image: Screengrab/X
More charges are expected to be added when the men arrested in connection with the disappearance of community radio journalist Aserie Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Precious Mdhluli appear in court on Wednesday.
On Monday, four people were arrested, linked to the disappearance of the couple in February. The couple was last seen on February 18, 2025, leaving their home in Mpumalanga in a white Volkswagen Citi Golf.
Police have since changed the case from missing persons to kidnapping and car hijacking. However, additional charges might be added when the accused men appear in court on Wednesday.
Pretoria-based journalist Aserie Sibusiso Ndlovu was reported missing on February 18, 2025 together with his partner, Zodwa Mdhuli.
Image: Supplied
The Deputy Minister of Police, Dr Polly Boshielo, together with the national commissioner of the SA Police Service, General Fannie Masemola, will on Wednesday meet families of Ndlovu and Mdhluli.
SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, said Deputy National Commissioner of Crime Detection, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, will also form part of the briefing at KwaMhlanga police station.
The delegation will thereafter attend court proceedings of the men arrested in connection with the disappearance.
One of the four arrested suspects was working for Mdhluli as a metered cab driver.
Two of the four arrested suspects on Tuesday appeared before the KwaMhlanga Magistrate's Court in Mpumalanga in connection with the disappearance of the couple. The arrested driver was meant to appear in court in Mamelodi on Tuesday, but was transferred to Mpumalanga.
"The suspect who was meant to appear before the Mamelodi Magistrates Court has been transferred to KwaMhlanga for jurisdiction purposes because the incident happened in KwaMhlanga. He is now expected to appear before the KwaMhlanga Magistrates Court," said Mathe.
Earlier, Mathe said the arrested driver was familiar with the missing couple.
"At least at this stage, none of the four suspects in police custody are relatives of the couple. The first suspect, according to our evidence that we have gathered, works for the partner of the missing journalist. So he was quite familiar, and he was a person that is known to this couple," she told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
"The other three, one of them being a mechanic - we are not too sure how they relate, but we can say all four of these suspects worked in cahoots. That is why they are also facing those additional charges of kidnapping and hijacking."
Police have intensified their efforts, seeking to find the missing couple.
Mathe said the second, third, and fourth suspects that have been arrested were found with different vehicle parts believed to belong to the VW Citi Golf owned by Ndlovu.
"One of those arrested is said to be a mechanic who builds and fixes cars in the KwaMhlanga area. Two Volkswagen Citi Golfs that were found in possession of the suspects have been seized," said Mathe.