Central SA
Five arrested after missing lecturer's car was recovered in Lesotho─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 08:25 Wed, 14 Jun 2023
Five suspects have been arrested after two were found with the car of the Central University of Technology (CUT) lecturer who was reported missing more than a month ago.
The 28-year-old Kgatliso Edwin Makgetla, a lecturer at CUT’s Welkom campus, was last seen in Meloding on Friday 5 May 2023, where he was staying with his brother.
Free State police spokesperson Stephen Thakeng said two suspects were detained in Lesotho following an intensive search. Officials in Lesotho were also contacted to assist.
Thakeng said Lesotho's Mounted Police assisted members of the police in the arrest of two suspects on 10 June. They were found travelling with a black Ford Fiesta connected to Makgetla. The suspects are currently detained in Lesotho as they await the extradition process.
Investigations revealed that Makgetla was hijacked and kidnapped and his vehicle was sold to the two suspects. Thakeng said after the police received further information, another suspect was arrested at a hostel in Thabong and two more in Bronville, Welkom.
It’s understood that one of the three arrested is a foreign national without legal documentation to be in South Africa.
Three suspects appeared in the Welkom Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 13 June 2023. Mohali Albert Lekesi (37), Mosebi Mahajane (43), and Yonela Somacala (25) are facing charges of hijacking and kidnapping. Their case was postponed to 20 June 2023 for bail application.
