Ex-priest faces murder probe

2002-05-05 08:16

Siphiwe Mboyane

Johannesburg - Former Ebenezar Evangelical Church pastor Reverand Itumeleng Sibenya, whose wife Shirley was murdered in an alleged hijack drama, is to be questioned by the police about the circumstances of his wife's murder.

With her death shrouded in mystery, reports emerged this week that the couple had marital problems and were effectively separated. Sibenya's alleged affair with his wife's best friend is believed to have led to the separation.

West Rand police spokesperson Superintendent Milica Bezuidenhout said all witnesses, including Sibenya, were to be questioned.

"We are going to obtain a statement from him about events leading to the hijack and murder but not as a suspect because we do not have sufficient evidence," said Bezuidenhout.

Sibenya, who was indefinitely suspended from the church two years ago because of the alleged affair and also for denying he was the father of his wife's seven-year-old son, is also alleged to be the father of the 18-month-old son of his wife's best friend and fellow congregant Violet Thapina.

Family suspicious

At the time of the suspension he told the church elders that when he met his wife she was already pregnant. He nonetheless married her because he loved her.

In the wake of Shirley's burial this week her family began to openly express doubts about the circumstances surrounding her death.

One of her sisters told City Press on Friday that she had an appointment with Shirley on the day (April 21) she was murdered. She said the deceased called her on her cellphone at 06:45 to tell her that Sibenya had - as a surprise - taken her on an outing to buy ice-cream.

An hour later, Sibenya called her again, but this time to report that he had been hijacked and dumped on the road by three men who had kidnapped his wife.

The sister immediately made four telephone calls to the deceased's phone, but each time the call was terminated. When she called the fifth time, the cellphone had been switched off.

Sibenya's cellphone was also switched off minutes after he called his sister-in-law.

Failed to identify suspects

The deceased's mother, Regina Mthethwa, also questioned why Sibenya had failed to identify one of the suspects arrested by police after he initially gave a clear description of his alleged hijackers.

The only difference in the suspect's appearance was that he had shaved off his dreadlocks.

Allegations that Sibenya also called the deceased's employer, All Pay, on April 22 - a day after the hijack - enquiring about his wife's benefits, also raised suspicions. At the time of the enquiry, he could not have known his wife was dead.

The deceased's mother told City Press she was suprised by the fact that her daughter's body was dumped a few metres from her grandmother's house in Kagiso.

"It can only mean these people knew about the house and they wanted her to be found as quickly as possible," said Mthetwa.

When the City Press crew approached Sibenya for comment on Friday night, he ushered us into the house and then vanished into one of the bedrooms.

He never came back. Instead, relatives surrounded the crew and asked us to leave.

- City Press