A 36-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance and death of Nomvula Chenene. The skeletal remains of the 28-year-old Chenene were discovered inside a shallow grave that was inside a shack in Lakeside, Vaal.
According to the Sedibeng Ster, police received a tip-off about her whereabouts from the girlfriend of the man arrested.
Chenene’s older brother Bennett, known for his playing days at Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic, helped identify her body after being taken to the crime scene.
The publication reported that Nomvula was last seen on 10 December 2022 after leaving a local drinking establishment. It is suspected that the whistleblower had been sitting on the information about Chenene’s whereabouts all this time.
About this, Chenene said:
Why after three months? We suffered emotionally and physically. The informant should have spoken out early and saved us the headache. We couldn’t eat and sleep.”
Body found:
The story of the missing Nomvula Chenene has a sad and tragic ending. A body believed to be hers was recovered on a property in the Vaal area, south of Johannesburg. She is the sister of former Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic player Bennett Chenene.
A Facebook post by the Vaal News read:
“Police have exhumed the remains of Nomvula Chenene, a sister [of] former Orlando Pirates player Bennet Chenene, today in Lakeside. Nomvula Chenene went missing on 10 December 2022. Her remains [were] found buried inside a shack [after] the girlfriend [of] the suspect alerted the police. Suspect has been apprehended.”
When Sports Brief first reported the story in February, it quoted older brother Bennet saying to the Daily Sun:
“My mother told me that my sister went out with her friends to a nearby tavern, but she never came back. Many people have come to my home since, and some called to let us know that they have seen my sister at shopping complexes and on an open field. We went to various prophets who told us that my sister is still alive.”
Bennett unsettlingly added that because Nomvula is lesbian, something bad could happen because of her s.e.xual orientation, adding:
“We get calls every week that she was seen in areas such as Orange Farm, Sebokeng, and Palm Springs, and our efforts in finding her have never materialized anything.”
News24 journalist Ntwaagae Seleka was on the scene, tweeting:
“SAPS forensic experts have arrived at the scene where skeletal remains believed to be that of the missing sister of ex-Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana player, Bennett Chenene. Nomvula Chenene, 28.”
“Residents of Lakeside gathering outside the house where skeletal remains to be that of the sister of ex-Pirates and Bafana player Bennett.”
-SportsBrief
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