SUSPECT ARRESTED IN SA BISHOP JG LINDA'S DEATH

MBABANE - A year and three months after the death of renowned South African Bishop JG Linda, police have made a significant breakthrough with the arrest of his alleged assailant, Nhlanhla Sikhondze.

Sikhondze was apprehended last Sunday and is currently cooperating with the police in connection with the bishop’s murder. He appeared at the Mbabane Magistrates Court yesterday, where he began recording a confession before Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi. The confession was not completed, however, as Sikhondze spent nearly two and a half hours during the proceedings, and time constraints resulted in an adjournment.

It is important to note that Sikhondze had been on the police’s list of most wanted individuals since the discovery of Bishop Linda’s decomposed body in a stream at Motshane in January last year. The bishop’s lifeless body, which bore gaping wounds on both sides of the head and to the stomach, was found approximately four metres from a small stream within a forested area. There are reports suggesting that the deceased’s tongue was missing.

Robbed

Prior to the bishop’s disappearance, Sikhondze allegedly posed as a good Samaritan, offering to assist him in locating a filling station. During this encounter, it is claimed that the unsuspecting bishop was robbed of his motor vehicle and a firearm, leading to the circumstances of his death.

The body was discovered by local residents who frequently used the footpath connecting Motshane and Hawane, already in an advanced state of decomposition.

Residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed suspicions that the bishop had been killed elsewhere and disposed of in that secluded location.

“We suspect that the man was killed and later dumped here because his face does not look familiar in the area. We observed gaping wounds in the head and stomach, which gave us the impression that he might have been hacked to death,” said one resident.

Upon investigation, it was found that the body was dumped about 500 metres from the Motshane-Pigg’s Peak Public Road, with a distance of approximately 150 metres from the gravel road to the stream where the corpse was located. This raised questions about the possible movements of the assailants who might have transported the deceased to the site.

Confusion among some locals about the incident persists due to the isolated nature of the surrounding farmland and minimal neighbouring properties.

The manner in which the body was discarded has sparked significant concern over the ongoing incidents of killings and bodies being disposed of throughout the country.

Corpse

The discovery of Bishop Linda’s corpse comes amid other violent incidents in the region, including the execution-style murders of two South African men, allegedly at the hands of their compatriots, near a guest house in Ezulwini. This was followed by the homicide of Matsapha businessman Sifiso Simelane, whose body was discovered in Malkerns, an incident believed to be a targeted assassination by friends. Moreover, Samukeliso Chirwa was found deceased with his head buried in sand in Ezulwini, a discovery made by a herd boy tending to livestock.

It is pertinent to mention that Simelane’s alleged killers have been arrested and charged with murder, and their case remains pending in court, while no progress has been reported regarding Chirwa’s murder investigation.

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