Africa-Press – South-Africa. For over a year, my brother was lying in the wrong grave, buried by the wrong people. He must come home to be properly buried.”
Linah Sithebe is waiting for the police to complete their investigations before she can bury her brother Sibusiso Sithebe, 32.
Her brother was allegedly buried by the Mahlangu family, who claimed the person being buried was Sibusiso Mahlangu, 33.
The Sithebe family is awaiting DNA results after the body was exhumed on 26 May following the arrest of Sibusiso Mahlangu and his wife Lerato, 32.
Sibusiso Mahlangu was arrested on 20 April in Hammanskraal after he was caught driving a stolen vehicle. Upon his arrest and processing, it was discovered that he was registered as deceased.
Lerato allegedly obtained a fraudulent death certificate from the Department of Home Affairs, claiming that her husband died in a fire and later claimed life policies.
It is alleged that the couple killed Sithebe, who was Lerato’s former boyfriend, burnt his body in their house, and then passed it off as Sibusiso Mahlangu to claim from his life insurance policy.
Linah claimed the person buried on 8 December 2022 in Soshanguve was her brother, who had fathered a child with Lerato.
Sithebe was last seen going to see his child at the Mahlangu’s home in Soshanguve.
Linah said:
“We are waiting for it to be released and for the process to be complete.”
The family was present when his body was exhumed on 26 May.
“We want to bury Sibusiso properly. I am ready to give my brother a dignified send-off. The wrong people buried him. We want to bury him in our customs,” Linah said.
Lerato Mahlangu and her husband Sibusiso are seen in court. An angry crowd gathered outside Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court to demand justice for the Sithebes.Gallo Images Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images The investigating officer informed the family that the body might be released to them next month.
“We will wait for July and the police to officially hand over his remains. DNA tests were conducted. We cooperated with the police investigation. We want closure,” she said.
“The Mahlangus buried my brother according to their Ndebele customs. He must be buried in his Zulu custom. I have many questions for the Mahlangus. The important one is who identified the body they claimed was that of their child?
“If they were deceived, they should have questioned their daughter-in-law, who was Sibusiso’s ex-lover. Sibusiso and Lerato share a child. The other issue is that they claimed the person was wearing the same ring their son Sibusiso Mahlangu wore,” Linah said.
Linah added:
Those can’t be the only items to identify a body. If they claim the body was burnt, there are other features they should have recognised from that body. Every person is built differently. We don’t have the same features. These questions are troubling me.Meanwhile, Mahlangu’s sister Rebecca claimed her brother and Lerato duped them into burying the wrong person.
Rebecca said Lerato was present as the family prepared for a funeral they thought was for their brother.
“Lerato lied to us that Sibusiso was dead. We went to their RDP house, where she claimed our brother was burnt to death. We couldn’t identify his body at that time. That body was burnt from the top to the waist. The charred body wore the wedding ring that Sibusiso wore when he married Lerato. She convinced us that the person was Sibusiso,” said Rebecca.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said she could not disclose how much the couple claimed from the insurance company as it had not yet been disclosed in court.
Sibusiso and Lerato abandoned bail and are expected back in the Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court on 13 September.
They face charges of premeditated murder, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
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