Body of SA fugitive identified in eSwatini

The body of SA fugitive Okkert de Meillon has been found in a mortuary in eSwatini. It's believed that he killed himself. De Meillon was arrested in July last year during an investigation into the murder of Rehane Potgieter, the mother of his then-fiancee Rehanie Nienaber. Potgieter was shot dead in Bethal the previous month. De Meillon was working as a mine manager at a coal mine outside Bethal at the time of the incident. While De Meillon was never arrested for murder, he raised police suspicions when they searched the house he shared with Nienaber. A report on the News24 site notes that police found arms and ammunition hidden in a storeroom on the property. De Meillon was arrested and released on bail of R10 000. The Royal eSwatini Police approached SA police officers in Piet Retief to help identify the body which had been in a mortuary since mid-January. Using fingerprint technology, they established it was De Meillon. His body will be repatriated to SA next week.