North West police spokesperson, Adelé Myburgh, says the 24-year-old’s identity was confirmed on Monday 10 January - nearly 7 months after he was killed. His torched Hyundai i20 was found at a soccer field in Ikageng Section in Klipgat on 17 June 2021. Preliminary investigations by police led to the apprehension of four male suspects between the ages of 19 and 22-years-old. 

Local police’s initial probe led them to a “house in Phutha Section, Klipgat, on Monday 21 June 2021. The house was searched and in one of the bedrooms, the team found bloodstains on the floor, under and on top of a bed as well as on the carpet. Furthermore, an axe suspected to have been used during the commission of this crime, was found on top of the roof of the house,” says the North West police spokesperson.

The arrested group include Arthur Khoza, Thato Masetla, Junior Modise and Mahlatsi Nkuna. Myburgh says the group will reappear before the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 18 January 2022 on a charge of murder. It has previously been reported by the Mbatha family that three of the suspects were granted bail of R500 on 13 August 2021, with the fourth remaining behind bars after abandoning bail.

Mbatha’s family has also released their own statement to the DNA results, revealing that they will now proceed with making arrangements to bury the 24-year-old. OFM News has been reliably informed that prior to working for the NWU’s Mahikeng campus, he was a student there.

OFM News