Johannesburg - Three male suspects have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a female tuckshop owner and her assistant at Ncera Village in Kidds Beach on Sunday morning.
After Zoleka Gantana (57) and Kholosa Mpunga (27) mysteriously disappeared, police investigation revealed that they had been murdered with a firearm. It is alleged that their bodies were chopped and burnt before being dumped into a dam near the farm at Gcinisa village.
The pair disappeared in what was suspected to be an abduction after their premises near East London in the Eastern Cape was found ransacked at the weekend.
Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said: “Police investigation continues in order to establish whether the body parts found in the dam could be that of the reported missing two women. At this stage police cannot link nor confirm the body parts as those of missing women. The human remains have since been taken to a nearby mortuary and will later be sent to the forensic laboratory for a further investigation.”
The suspects aged between 44 and 50 were arrested in the Peddie area after an intensive search and police investigation into the missing women.
“Their arrests were preceded by the recovery of the stolen vehicle belonging to Ms Gantana, which was found stuck in the mud without any person inside or nearby. Groceries were later found in one of the suspect’s homes on the farm,” said Kinana.
Investigators are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The arrested suspects are expected to appear in the East London magistrate court on Monday on charges of murder, kidnapping, possession of stolen property, and business robbery.
Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene has commended the SAPS members working on this case for their breakthroughs this far.
IOL