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A month after journalist Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner went missing, investigators have few leads

A month after journalist Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner went missing, investigators have few leads
A missing persons poster asking for information about the disappearance journalist Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdluli. (Image: SABC News Radio / X)
Bheki C. Simelane
By Bheki C. Simelane
20 Mar 2025
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The disappearance of journalist Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdluli, over a month ago has left families, friends and colleagues grasping for answers.

Boitumelo Selomo, who has a seven-year-old child with missing journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu, says their family is suffering, having received few updates from police about the disappearance of Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Precious Mdluli. 

“I spoke to Mama yesterday and she wasn’t okay. She just feels that the police are failing us. The reason for this is that the investigating officer told us he will not be available for the next two weeks. Mama is not happy about that,” Selomo said, referring to Ndlovu’s mother.

Selomo said the investigating officer told her he would be busy in court. 

“I then asked him what that means, and he said we will be represented by other officers but he did not give us their contacts to make a follow-up,” Selomo said.

Ndlovu and Mdluli went missing on Tuesday, 18 February 2025. Ndlovu is the founder of Capital Live, a radio station in Pretoria.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) did not respond to Daily Maverick’s request for comment.

Timeline


A missing persons poster asking for information about the disappearance journalist Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdluli. (Image: SABC News Radio / X)



Selomo said she last spoke to Ndlovu at around 10am the day he and Mdluli disappeared.

“We spoke on WhatsApp because he was supposed to go and attend a school meeting for the child, but he told me he will not be available as he will be very busy.”

She said the family was avoiding thinking about the worst. 

“We stay positive and have faith in God that they will come back safe. The biggest frustration now is with every passing day. It’s taking way too long.”

According to a private forensic investigator, Calvin Rafadi, who volunteered to help with the case pro bono, Ndlovu left the Capital Live offices in Mamelodi, Pretoria, in his VW Golf after 6pm, which was his normal time to leave work, and there was no indication that he was being followed.

He then went to an ATM at Denlyn Shopping Centre in Mamelodi and was seen on CCTV footage leaving the centre. He then left for KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga, where he shares a house with Mdluli. Ndlovu was last seen wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved white top and a pair of sneakers. 

It’s believed that Ndlovu met Mdluli at their KwaMhlanga house. Then, according to the locations of their phones, they left the house later that evening and were traced to somewhere in Bronkhorstspruit. 

“In Bronkhorstspruit, around 9am the following morning of the 19th, that’s when their phones were now off,” Rafadi said.

Rafadi also disclosed that there had been a break-in at the KwaMhlanga house and that it was ransacked. It’s unclear when the break-in occurred.

“Somebody was searching the house, especially the main bedroom,” Rafadi said.

The VW Golf remains missing. According to Rafadi, the car has no tracker. However, the police have assigned an “S”mark to the car, usually used by the SAPS on flagged but not necessarily stolen vehicles.

“So far, no ransom has been demanded,” Rafadi said.

There is also evidence that money was not withdrawn from Ndlovu’s account, and his bank account and bank card have not been used since their disappearance. 

At one point, the police reportedly believed someone had used Ndlovu’s bank card on 19 February, but it was an old transaction that was processed late. 

“Nobody has withdrawn the money. Nobody is using the money in his account,” Rafadi said.

One lead Rafadi tried pursuing related to Ndlovu’s grey Kombi, which he uses to drive with colleagues when attending events and whether he might have been targeted if he was using it as a side business.

“We could not find any other involvement of the Kombi, either in tenders or even as scholar transport to suggest that he might have been involved in such,” Rafadi said.

Initially, when investigators did not find Ndlovu’s Kombi, they thought it was stolen. However, it was traced to a panel beater, but it came to light that he had taken it there long before the couple disappeared.

A maroon Audi Q series, which did not belong to Ndlovu and looked like it was involved in an accident, was also found parked at the back of Ndlovu’s KwaMhlanga house. Its relation to the case is unclear. 

R50,000 reward


Two cases have been opened with the police – a missing person’s case and a housebreaking case. 

“We felt that it would be best to have two cases, [with] the KwaMhlanga [police] for housebreaking after his house was broken into, and a missing person’s case which we registered in Gauteng,” Rafadi said.

The African Media and Communicators Forum, in collaboration with the National Press Council, has announced a reward of R50,000 for credible information that aids the police in advancing their investigation.

The forum said on 16 March: “With each passing day, the families grow even more anxious and all of us become worried about their well-being. It is troubling that for almost a month there isn’t a shred of evidence or lead as to where there might be or what has happened to them.”

They added that Rafadi had “done some work which includes searching hospitals, mortuaries, hotels and other places of interest. Up to now there are no leads.”

Rafadi told Daily Maverick: “Our appeal to the public in light of the reward is that they must please refrain from making hoax or bogus calls because they interfere with the investigation.

“We do not want to run around like ambulances and exhausting much-needed resources.” DM

Anyone who might have seen the couple or know of their whereabouts is asked to make contact with Brigadier Mxolisi Nama of the Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Task Team on 082 778 9705.

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