The Liswati man who was suspected for the murder of his South African wife was found dead inside his vehicle in Midrand on Monday morning.
This was a day after reportedly leaving Eswatini where he had attended a family function.
Xolani Mandlazi of Mahlabane in Mafutseni was found inside his vehicle at Midrand.
The discovery of his corpse followed a search by the South African Police Service (SAPS) who had identified him as a person of interest in the murder case of a 23-year-old woman.
The murder case and subsequent discovery of Mandlazi’s body was widely published on South African media outlets as well as on social media where users had expressed concern over the continued brutal murders of women in South Africa.
According to the SAPS, Mandlazi had been sought by the police in connection with the shooting of his estranged wife Boitumelo Mashita, in Tembisa earlier on Monday.
The SAPS said Gauteng police were reportedly investigating a murder and robbery case after Mashita was shot and killed at about 5:45am on Monday at Temong, Mapungubwe Street in Tembisa.
According to the police, Mashita was reportedly on her way to work when she was shot during an alleged robbery. Her belongings were also taken. The SAPS said its investigating team had linked Mandlazi, who was Mashita’s spouse, to her murder and had identified him as a person of interest.
The SAPS Tembisa Tracking Team was subsequently tracing Mandlazi when it received information from Midrand Police Station that his vehicle had been found within its policing precinct, with his body inside.
Police said it was believed that Mandlazi may have ingested an unknown substance. A post-mortem is expected to determine the exact cause of his death, while Midrand police will register an inquest case for further investigation.
SAPS said preliminary investigations had not established any link between Mashita’s killing and recent cases involving the bodies of women found in Ekurhuleni.
Meanwhile, a relative of Mandlazi, Jabulani, said he had last seen him over the weekend in Manzini, where a cleansing ceremony was held. He said Mandlazi had arrived in Eswatini on Saturday for the ceremony and left the country on Sunday morning.
The relative noted that while Mandlazi spent most of his time in Eswatini where he also had a wife, he constantly moved between the two countries.
“He and the wife in Eswatini had had some challenges related to the fact that he had married the other woman in South Africa,” said the relative.
He further said the deceased was married to his local wife in civil rites, and had left one minor child with the wife in the country.
