The family of slain East London businesswoman Busisiwe Ngwadla has welcomed the arrest of a suspect.
The 37-year-old victim was found lying in a pool of blood in front of her bathroom door at the Emerald Sky flats in Amalinda in February.
Speaking to the Dispatch on Monday afternoon, Ngwadla’s brother Thabo Ngwadla described the arrest as a relief to the family.
Ngwadla said: “The family has had sleepless nights ever since my sister was killed last month. What hurt us the most was knowing that the suspect is someone we know and was just roaming around Cape Town.”
He said the family pressured the police to find the suspect.
“The East London station commander called us on Sunday morning and told us the man had been arrested around 2am in Khayelitsha. I had already called the [police] minister Bheki Cele and the national commissioner [General Kehla Sithole) and they promised to try their best in helping us. We do not know everything for now.
“The suspect is still in Cape Town and we were told he appeared in court that side and the court ordered that he needed to be transferred to East London,” he said.
Police provincial head of corporate communication and liaison Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said they had no information about the suspect appearing in a Cape Town court. He said the suspect was on his way back to East London.
Ngwadla said a local non-profit organisation had already organised a petition to deny the suspect bail.
“I have had to go to therapists. My parents have been to the doctor. They are still weak.”
Last week, police for the first time named Ayanda Matika, 50, as a person who could assist in the investigation.
Kinana said the suspect in his 50s had been arrested on Sunday in Khayelitsha after a month-long investigation.
Kinana said: “The suspect disappeared from the Eastern Cape immediately after the murder of Busisiwe whose body was found in February with multiple stab wounds in her flat at Amalinda. ”
The Eastern Cape acting provincial commissioner, Major General Thembeka Dyantyi, expressed appreciation to the officers who were involved in the crime intelligence driven operation which led to the arrest.
“All of us are excited about this breakthrough, as it will surely bring the affected families closer to closure because they will witness justice being served in the case of their loved one,” Dyantyi said.
“The suspect is due at the East London magistrate’s court soon on a murder charge.