Six arrested after decomposed body discovered on Koster farm.
Following the discovery of a half decomposed male on a smallholding near Koster last week, the North West police have detained six people.
It is believed that the deceased was Mosimanyana Klaas Jobontho, 32. He was found dead in a shed on December 21.
In connection with his death, five men and a woman who are thought to have been farm tenants have been detained.
They have been identified as 36-year-old Stefan Nel, 52-year-old Wayne Schoeben, 20-year-old Donovan Martin, 54-year-old Adam Barnard, 39-year-old Mustafah Alberton, and 24-year-old Laurene van Niewenhuizen.
Following charges that they refused to let police into the property, they were charged with thwarting the course of justice when they appeared in the Koster magistrate’s court last Friday.
“The residents on the farm allegedly refused to open the gate and denied police access to the property. Police were forced to climb over the gate,” said police spokesperson Col Adele Myburgh.
“The body of the deceased was found in a back room with his hands bound or tied with an electric cord,” Myburgh said.
The trial for the defendant was adjourned to January 5. They continue to be detained.
Jobontho was last seen in the area of the plot on December 16, but his family didn’t report him missing until five days later, according to Capt. Aafjee Botma.
a person familiar with the situation told TimesLIVE Jobontho was repeatedly stabbed and subjected to harsh torture.
George Motale, the farm’s caretaker, asserted that once the owner left, the tenants ordered him off the property and instructed him to stay away. Motale informed the SABC that if he didn’t leave the farm, the accused would kill him.
He claimed the renters threatened him because he knew about their alleged involvement in illicit behavior.
The assassination of Jobontho, according to Motale, might have been an instance of mistaken identity because of their strong likeness.
