DNA results recently revealed that the body found inside a burnt Hyundai i20 vehicle last June belonged to Sam Junior Mbatha.

Sam’s body was found at a soccer field in Ikageng Section, Klipgat, at about 07:00 on Thursday, 17 June 2021.

On Tuesday, 11 January 2022, almost seven months after the incident, Colonel Adéle Myburgh, the North West police spokesperson, said the DNA results would form part of police investigations.
After the police discovered the burnt car, their initial investigations led them to a house in Phutha Section on 21 June.

“The team searched the house and found bloodstains in one of the bedrooms. They were on the floor, under and on a bed and the carpet,” she said.
Myburgh added that an axe, suspected to have been used during the commission of the crime, was found on the roof of the house.

The gruesome discovery later led to the arrest of four suspects: Arthur Khoza (19), Thato Masetla (22), Junior Modise (21) and Mahlatsi Nkuna (21). All four are set to appear in the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on 18 January on a charge of murder.

In a statement released by the family on Tuesday, 11 January 2022, they thanked the community for their support during the wait for the DNA results.

They also acknowledged the work the SAPS had put in and media houses that carried Sam’s story.
“We can now make arrangements to lay him to rest,” the statement read.

At the time of his death, Sam was at the peak of his presenting career. He worked as a social media officer at the Mahikeng Campus of North-West University (NWU).
Many remember him as a kind-hearted soul who was easy to be around.