By UKTN reporter 
9h ago
Cape Town – A 37-year-old Eastern Cape man has been arrested for allegedly killing and burying his 15-year-old girlfriend under his bed.
Police confirmed the 15-year-old to be Yonela Nonkeneza, who was unearthed from the suspect’s home in the locality of Qawukeni near King William’s Town (now Qonce) in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday afternoon.
Hours later, the man was arrested by police near Lower Mthombe, near Qonce, police spokesman Sibongile Soci said.
“The circumstances surrounding the murder are part of the investigation. However, it is alleged that the 15-year-old was last seen on Sunday, March 28, 2021,” Soci said.
“The cause of death is unknown and will be confirmed by autopsy.”
The victim’s sister, Nontombazana Sofolo, said the suspect accused Nonkeneza of stealing R500 from him, UKTN reported. Sofolo had begged him not to harm Nonkeneza and had promised to pay him back in installments.
Qawukeni community leader Freeman Gqatso, 61, said the suspect was a well-known criminal who had spent more time in prison than outside.
A suffocating smell from the 37-year-old suspect’s home had led to the horror discovery, DispatchLIVE reported.
Nonkeneza had arrived in her father’s family village only four months ago from Rustenburg, where she had lived with her mother. The family was going to perform a traditional ceremony to formally welcome him into their fold.
The boyfriend’s uncle alleged that the suspect came knocking on his brother’s door, saying: “u Yonela akashukumi uswekelike. Ndizomngcwabela apha e roomini (Yonela doesn’t move. She’s dead. I’m going to bury her in my room). “
The uncle was too scared to check and waited for his brother to arrive.
“When I arrived on Monday, I inspected the house, but found nothing suspicious, until my brother told me he had confessed to killing Yonela.
UKTN
