Two KwaZulu-Natal men charged with the murder of five Boston family members in November appeared briefly in the Richmond magistrate’s court on Monday.
In December, police arrested two suspects, aged 25 and 27, at KwaZinqamu in Elandskop in connection with the disappearance of Sizwe Mauris Ngcobo, 64, Thandazile Zondi, 41, Bonokwakhe Khuboni, 40, two-year-old Sibongile Fanelesibonge and one-month-old Libra Ngcobo.
But the charges were withdrawn.
On Saturday, police from the provincial trio task team, organised crime unit and crime intelligence arrested Mhlonishwa Zondi, 22, and Khulekani Zondi, 35, from eMaswazini on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg.
They face five charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery, theft and defeating the ends of justice.
Two men arrested in connection with missing family found burnt in KZN
Image: Mfundo Mkhize
Two KwaZulu-Natal men charged with the murder of five Boston family members in November appeared briefly in the Richmond magistrate’s court on Monday.
In December, police arrested two suspects, aged 25 and 27, at KwaZinqamu in Elandskop in connection with the disappearance of Sizwe Mauris Ngcobo, 64, Thandazile Zondi, 41, Bonokwakhe Khuboni, 40, two-year-old Sibongile Fanelesibonge and one-month-old Libra Ngcobo.
But the charges were withdrawn.
On Saturday, police from the provincial trio task team, organised crime unit and crime intelligence arrested Mhlonishwa Zondi, 22, and Khulekani Zondi, 35, from eMaswazini on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg.
They face five charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery, theft and defeating the ends of justice.
Eastern Cape man convicted of gruesome inferno deaths
On November 16, the five family members went missing from Boston in the KZN midlands.
The bodies were found in Richmond, burnt beyond recognition, together with the Toyota Tazz they owned. A land dispute is suspected to be at the centre of the crime.
The victims’ families are awaiting DNA tests on the charred remains.
Prosecutor Andre de Nysschen said the state intended to oppose bail for the pair.
The investigations into the murders hit a snag when the state withdrew the charges against the two people previously arrested in connection with the crime.
A family representative, identified as Siyabonga Sosibo, told TimesLIVE the latest arrests would help heal the wounds of family members who lost their loved ones: “When the first people [arrested] had their charges withdrawn, we questioned the way in which justice works.”
Though the police had not finalised their investigations, it was encouraging that they had made headway with the latest arrests, said Sosibo.
The case has been postponed to February 21 for a bail application.
TimesLIVE
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