LIMPOPO – Four men and a woman will appear in the Northam Magistrate’s Court soon on charges of murder and house robbery following their arrest for the murder of Nikolaas Johannes Steenkamp.

The 59-year-old farmer’s body was found by employees at the Maroelasfontein farm on Tuesday (September 6) by employees, a day after he went missing.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said Steenkamp and an employee worked on a pump on the farm on Monday (September 5). He then left the employee and wasn’t seen again.

“The victim’s body was found by other employees the following afternoon, tied up with cables,” he said.

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Mojapelo said the suspects also stole jewellery and a laptop from the drop safe.

“Members of the Visible Policing, Rural Safety Partners in Policing, Fire and Rescue in Policing and Detectives from the district followed leads and four workers were arrested. During the arrest, police recovered some of the stolen items, a laptop and a cellphone,” he said.

The fifth suspect, a foreign national, was arrested on Wednesday night (September 7) in the North West province.

Mojapelo said detectives from the Northam and Mogwase police stations conducted a well-coordinated, intelligence driven operation after receiving information on the whereabouts of the suspect.

“The information led the team to Holfontein where the suspect was arrest in his rented room,” he said.

The safe that was taken from the scene and jewellery was also recovered.