William Nkuna, accused of murdering missing police constable Frances Rasuge, handed himself over on Wednesday, police said.
North West police spokesperson senior superintendent Pieter du Plessis said Nkuna had handed himself over at the Pretoria North police station.
”Mr Nkuna is currently in custody and will appear tomorrow [Thursday] at the Mmabatho Circuit court sitting in Ga-Rankuwa.”
Du Plessis said the appearance would be to arrange a date for the start of the murder trial.
The trial was to have started last week on Monday, but Nkuna failed to appear.
He sent a relative instead to read a letter claiming a doctor had recommended he be admitted to an institution for treatment of post-traumatic stress. The authenticity of the letter was doubted and a warrant for Nkuna’s arrest was issued by the court.
Police later offered a R50 000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
It was reported that as the warrant was being issued for his arrest, Nkuna was being interviewed on radio claiming that he missed Rasuge and could not be sure if she was alive.
Nkuna had been out on warning since his last appearance in court on May 23.
Nkuna and Phineas Kutumela, a traditional healer, were arrested in August last year after Rasuge, who was reportedly Nkuna’s girlfriend at the time, went missing.
Rasuge was last seen alive in the company of Nkuna at a hairdressing salon in Themba.
Although her body has not been found, police presume her to be dead. Nkuna and Kutumela appeared in the Moretele Magistrate’s court in Themba several times and were charged with her kidnapping.
They were also kept in custody for almost seven months. Earlier this year the court struck the case from the roll when the state wanted another postponement.
Soon after his release, Nkuna was again arrested, this time for alleged vehicle fraud committed in March last year.
He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s court on March 23 this year and was released on bail of R5 000 in the fraud case.
Two days later, on March 25, he was again arrested after a warrant was issued against him for Rasuge’s murder.
This warrant of arrest was declared null and void in the Moretele Magistrate’s court, and Nkuna was released on warning. – Sapa