By Phephile Motau
A man known to be deceased has been arrested together with his wife after he was caught driving a stolen car.
The man who is from Tshwane, South Africa, according to News24 is known to have died in a house fire last year. The online publication reported that police are currently working on establishing who was buried in his place.
The couple, Sibusiso Mahlangu and Lerato from Soshanguve are facing charges of murder, defeating the ends of justice and fraud. It was reported that authorities have not yet confirmed whose body was buried in Mahlangu’s place and that efforts to exhume the body are underway with police making the necessary applications.
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It is suspected that the body belongs to Lerato’s ex-boyfriend, 32-year-old Sibusiso Sithebe, who she has a daughter with. The burnt body was reportedly found wearing Mahlangu’s ring.
The case has similarities to that of convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, who was said to have burnt to death in his cell at Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year.
He was, however, found to have escaped, and the charred body in his cell was that of Free State resident Katlego Bereng.
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Bester was arrested with his girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, on April 7 in Tanzania. According to Sithebe’s sister, Linah, Sithebe was reported missing on January 1, 2022, after he and his new girlfriend had celebrated their child’s birthday party.
Linah said the girlfriend notified the family after Sithebe did not return from a job in Hammanskraal. The family opened a missing person’s case.
