The man faces charges of murder and contravention of immigration laws for allegedly being in the country illegally.
A 38-year-old Lesotho national accused of murdering his wife has abandoned his bid for bail.
Mthakathi Gift Njama from Meyerton appeared before the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Murder
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Njama faces charges of murder of his wife, Faniswa Majola May and contravention of immigration laws for allegedly being in South Africa illegally.
“It is alleged that on 3 March 2026, the family of the deceased called the deceased child enquiring about their mother. During the phone call, the child told the deceased’s family that they were travelling with his father and that the accused had locked the deceased in the house at their place of residence in Meyerton.
“On the same day, the family of the deceased went to the deceased’s place of residence, and on arrival, when they could not find her, the deceased’s family went to the police and reported the deceased missing,” Mahanjana said.
Search
Mahanjana added that a police search was conducted for both Gift and his wife.
“On 5 March 2026, the accused was found in Vereeniging. The accused then led the police to a nearby stream where the body of the deceased was found, and he was arrested on the scene.
“In court, the accused abandoned his bail application. The matter has been postponed to 25 March 2026 for a regional court appearance.”
Suitcase murder
Earlier this week, police in the Eastern Cape arrested a suspect within 24 hours for murder after a woman’s body was discovered in a suitcase.
The man, who is believed to have been the woman’s boyfriend, was handcuffed on Monday, a day after the woman’s body was discovered.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said officers responded to a report after a young boy and his friends made a grim discovery of a woman’s body in a suitcase in a pond in the Maizefield area near the dumping site.
Gantana said the investigations remain ongoing as authorities work to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident, including the motive for the crime.
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