Two men linked to missing persons denied bail

The men accused of killing two people, whose bodies have not been found, will remain in custody after they were denied bail on Tuesday. 

Farm owner Hermanus De Laray, 52, and farm manager William Underhay, 40, appeared in the Evander magistrate’s court in Mpumalanga on Tuesday, provincial police said. The case was postponed to March 20.

De Laray and Underhay were arrested on January 18 after the disappearance of two men — Sthembiso Mnikathi and Buhlebekhaya Ximba, both 30 — in May 2023.

Mnikathi and Ximba went missing at a farm near Leslie while on a hunting trip.

“It is said that a group of five men went hunting at a certain farm during the night of the said date [May 19 2023]. The five men were somehow spotted inside the farm and shots were allegedly fired. Three managed to escape out of the farm unharmed, meanwhile the other two were never seen again by their fellows,” provincial police spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli said.

Mdhluli said an inquiry for two missing persons was opened for investigation.

“The team of men and women in blue worked tirelessly and gathered some crucial information and certain individuals were identified as people that may assist with some clues that would help in solving the case. These people were able to provide valuable details in relation to the investigation.

“It then came to light that two suspects, De Laray and Underhay, were somehow entangled in a shooting of the two missing victims who could have possibly died. Police are of the view that the suspects could have then somehow disposed [of] their bodies somewhere else, far away from the farm.”

The two are facing charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. Mdhluli said more charges could be added.