Jerry Tonye Ndebele, a 69-year-old long-serving policeman for Chief Mphini Ndiweni, has died by suicide.
Ndebele is said to have left his wife sleeping early on Thursday morning and gone to a relative’s homestead. He entered a two-roomed house and hanged himself from the roof truss.
His wife followed him to the relative’s homestead and discovered his body hanging from a roof truss with a rope.
A neighbour said the matter was reported to the police, who took the body to Plumtree District Hospital. No suicide note was left behind.
Chief Mphini Ndiweni expressed devastation at the death of his family’s longtime policeman. He described Ndebele as more than just a policeman, saying “He was my father`s policeman and to me, he was more than a policeman. I can say he was my parent because I learnt a lot from him, he had all our history.”
Ndebele is survived by his wife and two children, though one child has been missing in South Africa for years.
The police spokesperson was not available for comment. Chief Mphini Ndiweni has been installed since 2008.
