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By Siboniso Mngadi 
7h ago
Durban – Could there be a serial killer roaming the streets of Empangeni and the surrounding areas in North KwaZulu-Natal?
This is what families who prayed for the safe return of their loved ones suspect, as more women have disappeared.
At least five women in their 20s and 30s have gone missing in the past three months in what a law enforcement source believes could be the return of a serial killer.
Four women and three men have been reported missing at Empangeni and Richards Bay Police Stations, according to a police source with knowledge of the King Cetshwayo Police District Station, which is located below Empangeni and Richards Bay.
He added that while the police were looking for those reported as missing, three decomposed and burned bodies had been discovered in a cane field.
Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a KZN police spokesman, confirmed that four women were reported missing within the Empangeni police area last month.
“These women were from different areas of Empangeni and their disappearances cannot be related at this stage,” Mbele said.
The police source further revealed that most of the missing persons disappeared in the city, which was unusual.
He said the matter was raised to the authorities at the provincial level for intervention.
In the latest incident, police were searching for Vamile Mhlongo, who disappeared Monday after she underwent a driving test at the Empangeni Traffic Inspection center.
His employer, Swazi Ndlovu, said he contacted the police when he was unable to reach Mhlongo.
“We went to the testing center and they confirmed that she was there. We went to the taxi rank to check if he was traveling back home to Jozini where he came from, but his name was not on the passenger list. It has been very difficult for us and her family because she has not done this before, ”said Ndlovu.
Her disappearance comes while the police were still searching for Thobeka Ngema, who disappeared on September 12 in Empangeni, where she was expected to take a taxi home to Ngwelezane.
Her mother Gloria Ngema said they were called to identify three bodies that had been found by police, but that it was not her daughter.
She said they were still waiting for a DNA result that was made two weeks ago after a burned body was discovered in a cane field.
The source said that in 2013 they experienced similar cases and then it was discovered that there was a serial killer who was later arrested and sentenced.
“It is very worrying if you look at the number of missing persons from all the police stations in the King Cetshwayo Cluster. We had this problem in 2013, when a serial killer was roaming around. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, we saw a decline thereafter.
“From what we’re witnessing, there could be another serial killer wandering around. Although there are men who have been reported missing, the figures indicate that the majority of the victims were women under 30 years old, ”said the police source.
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