AFTER being on the police wanted list for nearly a week, Thulani Ginindza (40) from Motshane, who was wanted in connection with the alleged murder of his wife Princess ‘Nunu’ Johnson, was found dead after allegedly hanging himself.
Ginindza’s body was discovered yesterday at around 3pm in Motshane by family members and two community police officers who had been searching for him in a forest near his home after suspecting that he may have taken his own life.
His corpse was found decomposing, hanging from a tree branch inside the forest. Several items were found in his possession, including mobile phones believed to be those of his children.
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It had earlier been reported that he allegedly took the phones from his two daughters on the day of the incident to prevent them from calling for help and also alerting their mother that they were being tricked into calling her back to the homestead. This is after they could not find her when their father arrived on December 31.
Ginindza’s mother was seen wailing as police forensic officers removed his body from the scene while the rest of the community watched in disbelief.
The couple had three children together; two girls aged 13 and six, and a four-year-old boy.
The recovery of Ginindza’s body comes nearly a week after he allegedly murdered his wife by stabbing her 16 times. The tragic incident occurred at a homestead near Nduma Umphakatsi around 7am on January 2, leaving residents shocked.
The police had been looking for him as a wanted suspect after the gruesome murder of his wife.
One of the community police officers involved in the search, Lucky Dube, said they decided to organise a search party after suspecting that the suspect might have taken his own life.
“The condition we found him suggests that he committed suicide. We were searching together with family members when we discovered the body,” alleged Dube.
According to Assistant Inspector Gcina Dlamini, Ginindza’s decomposed corpse was found in a forest near his home. Dlamini further thanked the public and Motshane community for their cooperation in finding Ginindza who was believed to be on the run after allegedly killing his wife.
“Investigations continue,” he said shortly.
Meanwhile, when the Johnson family was contacted regarding the latest developments, the deceased’s brother Allen Johnson said the family had not yet received any official communication.
GBV & CRISIS SUPPORT INFORMATION
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or emotional distress, help is available.
- Eswatini Police Emergency: 999
- Gender-Based Violence Support Services: Available through local police stations and social welfare offices
- Mental Health Support: Ministry of Health facilities nationwide
Seeking help early can save lives.
“We only saw on social media that Ginindza’s body had been found. Nothing has been formally communicated to us,” he said.
Johnson confirmed that his sister would be buried on Sunday at KaMfishane in Hlatsi, under the Shiselweni region, with a night vigil scheduled for Saturday. He added that she could not be buried at the same homestead where she lost her life.
Princess ‘Nunu’ Johnson, aged 30, was a pre-school teacher. She reportedly sustained 16 stab wounds, and her throat was allegedly slit with a bread knife.
According to reports, on the night of the incident, Ginindza allegedly tricked their eldest child, aged 13, into calling their mother back home, as she was not present when he arrived at around 10pm on New Year’s Eve.
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Reports had indicated that the girls realised that something was not right as they were uncomfortable about lying to their mother when they were forced to make the phone call.
However, Ginindza is said to have made sure that they did not call her again and had confiscated their phones, preventing them from warning their mother about the imminent danger they feared.
These are the phones that were believed to have been found with the deceased when his body was found by the police yesterday.
Police were called immediately after the attack and arrived at the scene to find that the woman had already died. This then led to many organisations calling for government to stand up and protect women from Gender Based Violence (GBV) by ensuring that firm laws are enacted against perpetrators and that reform services are provided.
The children, according to latest reports, were undergoing counselling sessions with the help of the Ministry of Health.
