KwaZulu-Natal Woman Missing Since Christmas Found Dead, Buried in Work Manager’s Backyard
- A woman who went missing before Christmas was found murdered and buried in her work manager's yard
- Ayabonga Mjilo, 21, was not seen again after the pair reportedly left a restaurant together in Umhlanga
- KwaZulu-Natal police said a reported altercation once at the man's home led him to allegedly strangle her to death
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INANDA — KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested a man for the murder of a woman, reportedly his subordinate, who went missing before Christmas.
An investigation led police to a 37-year-old suspect, who cannot be named until after his court appearance, resulting in his arrest on Saturday, 4 January 2025.
Missing woman abducted, killed and buried
Ayabonga Mjilo, 21, was last seen on Monday, 23 December 2024, as the pair reportedly left Capello Night Club in Umhlanga, north of Durban.
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KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a kidnapping case was subsequently registered after she did not return home.
"Thorough police investigations uncovered the identity of the man last seen leaving the establishment with the missing woman," said Netshiunda.
"The investigations revealed that he was her manager at work and had taken her to his home in the Amaotana area in Inanda."
Netshiunda said there was reportedly an argument between the two, leading the man to allegedly strangle her to death.
He then allegedly buried Mjilo — who, according to her missing person poster, previously worked at Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company Nutun and, recently, Webhelp — in his backyard.
The suspect will appear in the Durban Magistrate's Court on Monday, 6 January.
"He faces charges of kidnapping, murder and defeating the ends of justice," added Netshiunda.
In a similar incident in July 2024, police recovered the body of a woman who went missing a week earlier in a shallow grave in a cemetery in Pienaar near Mbombela, Mpumalanga.
Following the discovery, police arrested three people and charged them with the murder of Bonisiwe Mabuza.
Concern about her safety had mounted after her vehicle was abandoned with its wheels removed while belongings from her home were taken.
Police detained a man and woman, and a third man handed himself over before the trio appeared in the Kanyamazane Magistrate's Court on charges of house robbery, kidnapping, and murder.
Port Shepstone man stabs girlfriend to death
In a related story, Briefly News reported that a KZN woman was killed after being stabbed multiple times in yet another crime of passion in the province.
Following the alleged killing, the 31-year-old's boyfriend went on the run and has still not been located amid a manhunt by police.
The couple reportedly argued as they and a third person returned from a tavern on Monday, 30 December 2024. The woman woke up a neighbour not far from her home and asked for help after her lover allegedly threatened to harm her.
"She [told the neighbour] her boyfriend wanted to kill her," KZN-based crime journalist Dasen Thathiah posted to X.
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Source: Briefly News
