Case against 5 men charged with kidnapping, murders of Aserie Ndlovu, Zodwa Mdhuli postponed to finalise investigations

JOHANNESBURG - The case of five men charged with the kidnapping and murders of journalist Aserie Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdhuli, is set to return to court next Wednesday.

On Monday, the group appeared briefly before the KwaMhlanga Magistrate's Court in Mpumalanga, and the matter was postponed for the finalisation of investigations.

In a previous appearance, the director of public prosecutions endorsed the matter to be referred to a high court for trial; however, that can only happen once all outstanding documents, including the postmortem, have been gathered.

Ndlovu and Mdhluli’s remains were found in Rust de Winter, Limpopo, three months after they went missing in February.

The skeletal remains of the couple were discovered with gunshot wounds in May, bringing an end to a long-drawn search for them after they were last seen at the journalist’s place of work in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.

The five men accused of committing the brutal double murder remain behind bars until their next appearance in court next week.

The suspects each face a double count of kidnapping, and another two charges of robbery and murder for allegedly killing Ndlovu and Mdhluli.

During Monday’s proceedings, what the court received was furnished with an unfinalised docket from the investigating officer, following crucial documents added to the evidence in the matter.

The provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) expects the indictment to be finalised next week.