POLOKWANE – A 41-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a 23-year-old man who was reported missing in July last year.
The suspect will appear before the Lebowakgomo Magistrate’s Court today (January 20) on a charge of kidnapping and murder.
The deceased man’s remains were found cemented in a pipe near a local river in the Malipsdrift policing area on Wednesday (January 17).
Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the deceased was reported missing from the Mafefe village after he mysteriously disappeared on July 30, 2022.
“The deceased reportedly went outside his house to answer a phone call and never returned. Family searched for him and called his phone, but it was off. The matter was reported to the police and search operations never yielded any positive results,” his statement read.
Mojapelo said the SAPS task team responsible for investigating missing persons and occult cases in Limpopo took over the investigation and made a breakthrough by arresting the suspect.
“After months of searching, the investigating team was able to positively link the suspect with the incident. As the investigation continued, the deceased’s remains were located inside a pipe that was cemented near the local river. The remains were exhumed with assistance from the SAPS Water Wing, Polokwane Emergency Services personnel and Lebowakgomo fire department equipment,” Mojapelo said.
He added that the motive behind the incident will be determined through ongoing police investigations and that DNA tests will be conducted for conclusive identification of the deceased as well as postmortem to determine the cause of death.
The provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe said even though it took time for the police to crack this case, the family can take solace in the fact that the remains of their loved one have been found and the suspect arrested.
