Residents of Mamelodi have expressed their anger regarding failure by the Mamelodi East police to arrest a murder suspect.
The murder suspect is the boyfriend of Sibongile Hadebe, whose burnt corpse was discovered in Mamelodi East last week at an illegal dumping site situated between Koos Matli Primary School and Extension 4.
The local ANC Youth League then organised a march to the local Mamelodi East Police Station on Friday to seek answers from the station’s commander Terrence Naaido as to why Sibongile Hadebe’s boyfriend is still roaming the streets while he should actually be in jail for her murder.
The ANC Youth League first cleaned the bushy, filthy dumping site where Sibongile Hadebe’s burnt skeletons had been discovered before marching to the Extension 4 police station to confront the station commander.
The local branches of the ANC Women’s League, Congress of South African Students (COSAS) as well as members of various political parties also joined the march to express their disgust regarding the police’s failure to do their job.
The deceased’s brother Siphamandla Hadebe said she last saw his sister on 3 May this year and on 31 May he learned from the selfsame boyfriend that she was missing and he (Siphamandla) subsequently reported the matter to the police.
“After her body was discovered at the dumping site early in June with a nose ring, I immediately knew that it was her corpse and I contacted the police and I also alerted them to go to the place where my sister had been staying as a tenant in Extension 4 Mamelodi East and there they found the boyfriend burning some parts of her skeleton,” he said.
“I then presented myself for DNA testing at the police station and even now we are still waiting for the results which may take up to three or six months or more before they can be released and this state of affairs is an inconvenience to us because we want to find closure and bury her,” said Hadebe.
He revealed that he and his sister come from a disadvantaged background and grew up at an orphanage in KwaZulu-Natal.
ANC Women’s League leader Gogo Ndlovana said the requested the police to do their work and revealed that there are allegations that some police investigators are incapable of conducting investigations properly and demanded that the investigating officer in this case must explain to the community as to why the alleged perpetrator (boyfriend) has been released after being taken into police custody.
A resident of Extension 4 in Mamelodi East Lizzy Motsoeneng said in the day Sibongile Hadebe disappeared, she heard noises in the wee hours of the morning coming from the direction of where Sibongile Hadebe and her boyfriend stayed.
Sibongile Hadebe’s best friend Nthabiseng Mathibela said she knew everything about the abuse that Sibongile Hadebe was suffering at the hands of her boyfriend and that the last time she spoke to her on the phone she (Sibongile) had indicated that the boyfriend was knocking furiously at the door, ready to attack her.
“I feel like I have failed Sibongile because I should have reported the matter to the police,” said a distraught Mathibela.
She expressed concern that the boyfriend was allowed to be in possession of a cellphone while in police custody.
Mamelodi East Police Station Commander assured residents that the demands listed in their memorandum will be responded to in due course and begged the residents to allow due investigations to proceed regarding the issue of Sibongile Hadebe.
He pointed out that at the moment Sibongile Hadebe is still being regarded as a missing person until forensic investigations identify the burnt body and skeletons as belonging to her.
“We can not say there is one or two or three suspects in this matter and this case has been referred to higher authorities and is not being handled directly by the Mamelodi East Police Station,” said Naidoo.
He pointed out that at the moment he can’t reveal sensitive information regarding investigations into Sibongile Hadebe’s matter as he must respect her family and also because revealing such information may jeopardise investigations into the matter.
It has emerged that while the boyfriend has been released regarding Sibongile Hadebe’s case, a foreigner from Ghana has been arrested but members of the community demanded that the foreigner from Ghana be released as he is not implicated in the matter.