Charges against man accused of murdering Likhona Fose withdrawn
Mduduzi Mnisi was arrested in June after police linked him to the murder of the teen.
Mdudzi Mnisi, the accused of murdering Likhona Fose, appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrates Court on 2 July 2025. Picture: Sphamandla Dlamini/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it took the decision to withdraw the charges against Mduduzi Mnisi, who is accused of Likhona Fose’s murder, because of new information.
Mnisi appeared before the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court on Wednesday on charges of premeditated murder, only for them to be dropped.
The teen's mutilated body was discovered in an open field in Durban Deep, west of Joburg, in June.
During bail application proceedings, the investigating officer told the court that Mnisi was arrested based of a statement given by a witness, saying that he was the last person to be seen with the teen alive.
NPA spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, said further investigations that were conducted revealed that statement to be false.
"So, with that in mind, as the NPA, we had established prospects of a successful prosecution seeing that we had a witness that placed Mnisi as the last person to be seen with the deceased. However, subsequent to further probing, we then received this information, we then conducted further investigation. We instructed the investigating officer to do further investigations and that is when four more witnesses came with more information that confirmed that Mnisi was not the last person to be with the deceased."