South Africa · Investigation update

Smartwatch suspect faces fresh charges; murder questions remain

Kenneth Chibuzor faces added immigration, fraud and forgery charges, but the smartwatch proceedings still do not answer who killed Elizabeth Moselakgomo.

Updated 29 October 2026 · Latest verified reporting: 28 October

What has changed

Kenneth Chibuzor appeared in Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on 27 October in the property case involving Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo’s smartwatch. Mail & Guardian reported that he now faces additional alleged Immigration Act contraventions, fraud and forgery. His bail application was postponed to 2 November at his lawyer’s request, and he remains in custody. The added charges do not identify Moselakgomo’s killer, and the three men in the smartwatch case have not been charged with her murder. [8]

The smartwatch case remains a property case

Chibuzor, Stephen Mohlalakwane Sekhukhune and Danial Anthony Moat appeared in Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on 19 October. They face charges concerning the alleged acquisition and resale of Moselakgomo’s Garmin watch, including theft and money laundering; Chibuzor also faces alleged Second-Hand Goods Act contraventions. TimesLIVE reported explicitly that the arrests are not related to Moselakgomo’s murder. [2]

Sekhukhune and Moat remain on R10,000 bail each. Chibuzor remains in custody; after his 27 October appearance, his bail application was postponed to 2 November. The additional immigration, fraud and forgery counts are allegations, not findings, and they remain distinct from the unresolved murder investigation. [8]

Ntimba case: evidence described, and challenged, at bail

Masilela and Msithini are accused of Ntimba’s premeditated murder and of defeating or obstructing the course of justice. During bail proceedings on 19 October, investigating officer Sergeant Prince Mbonambi testified that bloodstains were found in a silver BMW suspected of use in the crime. The defence challenged whether the blood had been scientifically linked to Ntimba; Mbonambi said results were still awaited. He also said an alleged murder weapon had not been recovered. [3]

The same testimony described an investigation into a funeral policy that allegedly named the two accused as beneficiaries. The defence disputed the strength and circumstances of the State’s evidence, including Masilela’s allegation that police assaulted her into confessing. The investigating officer said he was unaware of an assault, and the report records testimony that medical examinations found no injuries. These are competing claims made during bail proceedings, not trial findings. [3]

SABC reported that the bail application was postponed to 23 October, and eNCA reported that the hearing continued that day with the State opposing bail. No reliable report located by 29 October confirms a bail ruling. [5] [4]

Nxumalo case: no verified new outcome

Victor Matome Rampedi remains accused of murdering Ntombifuthi Nxumalo. The last substantive court reporting Southwood could verify said his formal bail application had been postponed from 6 October to 19 October and that he remained in custody while the State planned to oppose bail. A local report published on 26 October repeats that earlier posture but still describes 19 October as the next hearing; it does not establish what happened on that date. Southwood is therefore not presenting a bail outcome that has not been verified. [6] [7]

What remains unproved

None of the new court reporting establishes a common perpetrator or a confirmed connection among the wider Ekurhuleni deaths. The smartwatch allegations concern property, the Ntimba case concerns two women separately charged with murder, and the Nxumalo case concerns Rampedi. Each must be reported on its own evidence and procedural record.

Southwood perspective

Court movement matters, especially to families waiting for answers. But a postponed bail hearing, disputed forensic evidence or possession of a victim’s property cannot carry more weight than the facts allow. Progress should mean tested evidence, clear rulings and an investigation that can explain what happened to each woman.

The public record is still incomplete. Precision is a form of accountability here: it keeps allegations separate from findings, property charges separate from murder charges, and distinct cases separate from theories that police have not confirmed.