Africa-Press – South-Africa. Rebecca Mahlangu says her family was deceived by her brother and his wife into burying a body they thought was his.
The couple, who appeared in the Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, had made them mourn and spend funds to bury who the family thought was her younger brother Sibusiso, 33, Rebecca said.
The funeral was held on 8 January 2022 at the Mahlangu family home in Soshanguve.
However, it later emerged that Sibusiso was alive after he was arrested in April this year by the police in Hammanskraal for driving a stolen car.
Rebecca and her family members were in the gallery of the packed courtroom alongside the loved ones of missing taxi driver, Sibusiso Sithebe, 32, who is presumed to be the person buried by the Mahlangus.
“Our sister-in-law, Lerato, deceived us. She lied to us that Sibusiso was dead. We went to their house, where she claimed our brother was burnt to death. We couldn’t identify his body at that time,” Rebecca said.
“That body was burnt from the waist to the top. The charred body wore the wedding band Sibusiso wore when he married Lerato. We were convinced that it was him because Lerato told us.
“The couple lived together in an RDP house where the fire occurred. We then arranged for his funeral.”
On 7 January 2022, Rebecca and her elders went to the mortuary to identify the body before it was released for burial.
“My father and I identified the body at the mortuary as Sibusiso’s. Lerato didn’t go to the morgue as our culture didn’t allow that. She also didn’t go to the cemetery for the burial. She remained at home on her mattress. She was with us when we were planning the funeral.
“She didn’t contribute a cent. We had to claim from our insurance policies where we had registered Sibusiso,” Rebecca said.
“We were shocked when the police told us in April that they had arrested Sibusiso. They owe us answers. They fooled us. Lerato should have been honest from the start.
Mahlangu said Lerato was “always hysterical” as they were planning Sibusiso’s funeral.
“She cried a lot. She told us how she loved our brother, yet she knew she was fooling us. She deceived us. She had time to change her mind and tell the truth.
“She made us grieve for the wrong person. Lerato knows what happened – they planned to kill a person … to benefit from that death financially,” said Mahlangu.
Lerato and Sibusiso appeared briefly in court, facing charges of premeditated murder, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
They allegedly killed and torched a man believed to be Sithebe, who fathered a child with Lerato before she married Sibusiso.
Sithebe’s family is anxiously waiting for DNA results to confirm that it was him that was buried by the Mahlangu family.
The couple later claimed funds from a policy, alleging that the dead man was Sibusiso.
Their lawyer, Nhlanhla Shongwe, told the court that he was waiting for complete instructions from the pair before he could bring their bail application.
“Once their instructions have been received, I will inform the State, and a date will be arranged,” Shongwe said.
Prosecutor Katlego Matsena said the investigation hadn’t been completed.
“DNA results and photos are outstanding. We are awaiting further instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions office,” Matsena said.
The case will be back in court on 13 September.
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