Conmen Try to Claim Reward for Missing Journalist and Partner As SAPS Arrests 4, Including Driver

• Police have arrested four people in connection with the disappearance of Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu and Zodwa Mdhluli
• Mdhluli's sister claimed that conmen were trying their luck to cash in on the reward money on offer for information
• A taxi driver, who is known to the family, is among the four suspects arrested after the couple went missing in February 2025

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

MPUMALANGA – Conmen are attempting to cash in on a family’s desperate attempts to find missing journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdhluli.

Ndlovu, who is the founder of Capital FM in Pretoria, has been missing since February 2025 along with Mdhluli. A R100,000 reward has since been offered, but Ndlovu’s family have claimed that conmen are attempting to cash in on the money on offer.

Fraudsters attempt to claim the reward for information

Lilian Mokgala, Mdhluli’s elder sister, told News24 that they have received numerous calls from people claiming to know where the couple were and asking for even a portion of the reward.

Mokgala explained that the last call was from a man claiming to be a prophet in Cape Town who said he could reveal the pair’s whereabouts for R20,000.

“We have received numerous calls from churches, prophets and people claiming to know their whereabouts. Some even demanded money to reveal their whereabouts,” she said.

She added that one person even asked the family to bring extra money and the couple’s clothes so that he could perform a ritual to locate them.

Mokgala voiced her frustration that people were attempting to cash in on the family’s desperation.

“They are using the situation to fill their pockets. People are cruel. They don’t care about our pain. We are praying for the couple to be found alive, and people want money instead of assisting,” she vented.

The family are still hopeful for a happy ending as the search continues. Not all missing cases in the country end happily, though. In January 2025, a KwaZulu-Natal woman who went missing before Christmas was found murdered and buried in her work manager's yard.

In February 2025, the South African Police Service confirmed that 742 children missing since 2022 were still not found.

Family taxi driver arrested, appears in court

With efforts ramping up to find the couple, police have arrested four people in connection with their disappearance.

The arrest of a 41-year-old has left the family shocked, as the man was someone they knew and trusted. Samuel Mogongwe, who drives one of the family’s taxis in KwaMhlanga, was reportedly the last person to be seen with the couple.

Treasure Mdhluli, the couple’s son, said he was shocked by Mogongwe’s arrest.

“He is someone we know very well. He drives one of our taxis in KwaMhlanga. He was driving me around as we were trying to figure out what happened to my parents, ” Mdhluli said.

He added that Mogongwe was very concerned about the couple’s disappearance, but they didn’t suspect he had anything to do with it.

Mogongwe appeared in court on 6 May 2025, sporting a bruised face and a swollen left eye. He told the court that police officers assaulted him while stating that he was innocent and didn’t know anything about the case.

R350,000 reward offered for information on missing constables

In another article, a R350,000 reward was on offer for information regarding three missing constables.

Constables Cebekhulu Linda (24), Keamogetswe Buys (30), and Boipelo Senoge (20) disappeared without a trace while travelling to Limpopo.

Briefly News reported that their bodies were later retrieved from the Hennops River, six days after they went missing.

Source: Briefly News