The wife of slain teacher Fezile Frederick Mnyobisi is among the four persons identified as prime suspects in his brutal murder in Botshabelo on 15 September last year.
Halimmah Thamando Mnyobisi (38), together with Vusumuzi Daniel Nqele (43), Moeketsi Innocent Manko (35) and Abdool Thamando (35), were arrested in the course of the Botshabelo police’s ongoing investigation.
Their arrest comes a little more than a year after Fezile’s gruesome killing. The deceased taught at the Refihlile Primary School in Botshabelo’s C-Section.
The motive for Fezile’s killing remains unknown.
He was attacked at night in a corridor at the Setjhaba se Maketse Combined School in Section H1.
Sgt Mahlomola Kareli, provincial police spokesperson, said the fugitive Halimmah was apprehended on 26 November in Sandton, Gauteng.
He said the investigators had traced Halimmah to one of the luxury units of a complex where she was staying with her alleged boyfriend.
Her arrest came after the circulation of photos of her and the black Mazda CX-5 she was reportedly driving.
Halimmah Thamando Mnyobisi
The three other suspects were nabbed early in November.
Kareli said preliminary investigations revealed Fezile had suffered more than 30 stab wounds to the torso. He said a case of robbery and murder was open at the Botshabelo Police Station for further investigation.
The deceased was robbed of a green Samsung Galaxy A04s. A manhunt was launched soon after.
“After an intense investigation by the provincial commissioner’s Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management Investigative Psychology section, three suspects were arrested,” said Kareli.
“They were arrested for murder and conspiracy to murder.”
The third suspect, Thamando, is Halimmah’s brother.
The police, together with the district surgeon at the Botshabelo Regional Hospital, declared Fezile dead on arrival.
It was reported Halimmah had taken Fezile to the hospital in a private vehicle.
- The four suspects reappeared in the Botshabelo Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 3 December, to apply for bail. At the time of going to print, the application had not been finalised.
