Simphiwe Mkhwanazi (19) was remanded in custody following the recovery of a 37-year-old Ellen Dlamini’s body in a shallow grave in Daggakraal cemetery on Friday 11 August 2023.

Dlamini was reported missing by her partner on 08 August 2023 after she was last seen leaving the local tavern with Mkhwanazi on Friday 04 August 2023 at about 22:00.

Neighbours became suspicious when the mother of a 17-year-old teenager could not be seen for days. They then contacted her partner who was at work in Gauteng.

On arrival, her partner reported her missing at the police station and investigation was launched.

On Friday 11 August 2023, police received information that there was a shallow grave in the local cemetery with some body parts protruding from the grave.

Police were summoned to the scene and the body was unearthed in the presence of Dlamini’s partner who positively identified her. The body had bruises on the face and the bone shoved down her throat. Not far from the grave, some of her clothing items were also identified by her partner.

Mkhwanazi who was the last person to be seen in the company of the deceased was detained for questioning which resulted in him being charged for murder.

He appeared in Amersfoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday 14 August 2023 where he was remanded in custody pending further investigation and is expected back in court on Monday 11 September 2023.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela strongly condemned Gender Based Violence and urged women not to trust strangers, but rather bank on people they trust.

Source: South African Police Service