Family relative in court for murder of Polokwane mom, son
A mother and her son were kidnapped and murdered on separate occasions, apparently by a family member, the Polokwane police confirmed.
POLOKWANE- Two men appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court today (January 23) on charges of robbery, kidnapping and murder after the murders of a 56-year-old mother and her 31-year-old son on two separate occasions earlier this year.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba reported that the 56-year-old victim, Magdeline Motlanthe was last seen at her place of residence in Ivypark on January 9. Her body was later found in a shallow grave along the Roedtan-Zebediela road, but this discovery, however, linked to an earlier investigation of a missing person’s case in which the body of a young man was found in a shallow grave in Apel in the Sekhukhune district a week earlier. It was then determined that the deceased was Motlanthe’s son.
Police have since confirmed that a relatives of the family was arrested following an intensive investigation. A 32-year-old man was arrested last Saturday at Ga-Choene village, while the second suspect, a foreign national, was arrested in Polokwane on the same day and found in possession of the deceased’s cellphone.
An additional two suspects have been arrested, police confirmed, which brings the total of suspects to four.
The case was adjourned for further investigation and the suspects will remain in custody.
Provincial police commissioner Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe expressed her unequivocal condemnation of these events. “The violence perpertuated onto the vulnerable sector of our society is condemned in its strongest terms. Our teams are hard at work to leave no stone unturned to ensure that justice is served.”
