Man, 21, hands himself in over rape and murder of 89-year-old Eastern Cape woman

A 21-year-old man has appeared in court over the housebreaking, rape and murder of an 89-year-old woman at Elixeni Locality in the Bholothwa Administration Area, Eastern Cape.

Asekhona Mlungu Bali appeared before the Bholothwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 2 November 2026. The matter was postponed and he was remanded in custody until 4 November 2026 for a bail application, the South African Police Service said in a statement issued through the Office of the Provincial Commissioner Eastern Cape.

According to the police account, Bali handed himself over to Bholothwa police on Friday, 30 October 2026.

It is alleged that in the early hours of 18 October 2026 the woman’s son noticed a large hole in the door of the house. He went in through the hole and found the severely injured, lifeless body of his mother, police said. Officers were summoned to the scene and investigations continued until the suspect handed himself over.

The charges put to the court are housebreaking with the intention to rape, rape and murder.

District Commissioner Major General Rudolph Adolph strongly condemned what the statement described as the abuse of elderly people by young people, and said he hoped the investigation would result in a conviction and an appropriate sentence.

Enquiries on the case are directed to Captain Yolisa Mgolodela of the South African Police Service.

The statement is a police media summary rather than the court record itself, and the allegations against Bali have not been tested in court.

The South African Police Service statement is available at https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=72187.