BOTSHABELO: A slain teacher’s widow, who is also implicated in the gruesome murder of her spouse, Frederick Mnyobisi, has suffered another blow in the pending murder case against her. This blow for Halimmah Thamando Mnyobisi (39) came through the successful execution of a High Court preservation order for a property worth R750 000.
According to the police, she is believed to have purchased the property with part of the money she had received as a payout benefit following her husband’s death. In February this year, the Bloemfontein Hawks’ Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) team, together with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) successfully applied for a forfeiture order for all benefits, against Halimmah.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said the High Court granted the execution of the order on Thursday, 11 September, to secure the property. She said that combined, about R3 million had been paid out.
The money includes Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) benefits and investments. Matoti said Halimmah had received R300 000 as a pension payout and additionally received more than R260 000 from part of the deceased teacher’s investments. She said Halimmah was the main beneficiary of Mnyobisi’s payout.
The preservation order is the culmination of the police’s investigation into Mnyobisi’s brutal murder on 15 September 2023.
His widow is one of four suspects arrested in connection with the teacher’s killing. The others are: Vusumuzi Daniel Nqele (43), Moeketsi Innocent Manko (35) and Abdool Thamando (35) − Halimmah’s brother.
At the time of his murder, the deceased was working at the Refihlile Primary School in Botshabelo’s C-Section.
Running parallel to this preservation order is the pending murder trial in the Botshabelo Magistrates’ Court against the four suspects. According to Matoti, the trial has been transferred to the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.
“The trial in the criminal case against Halimmah and her co-accused is set to resume on 19 February and continue until 26 April 2026 in the High Court,” she confirmed.
The foursome are facing charges of murder and conspiracy to murder. All the suspects are still remanded in custody after unsuccessful bail applications.
According to the police, Halimmah is implicated as the prime suspect in the plot to murder Mnyobisi, exactly two years ago this month.
The suspects were arrested on separate occasions. Halimmah was arrested in Sandton, Gauteng, in November last year. At the time of her arrest, she reportedly had been staying with a boyfriend at a luxury unit in this residential Johannesburg area.
Police investigations revealed that Mnyobisi had been stabbed multiple times: suffering more than 30 stab wounds to the torso. He was attacked at night in a corridor at the Setjhaba se Maketse Combined School in Section H1.
Initially, robbery was suspected as the motive for Mnyobisi’s murder as his Samsung Galaxy A04s was taken during the incident. The police reported Mnyobisi, was declared dead by the district surgeon at the Botshabelo Hospital. Halimmah reportedly rushed him to hospital in a private vehicle.
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