A FORMER school teacher has been arrested and charged for the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old boy.
Lwazi Tembe of Thengane Reserve in Manguzi went missing on Monday, 30 September, after telling his parents that he was going to visit his ex-class teacher.
He did not return and after a few days his parents discovered their son had been kidnapped, after receiving text messages demanding ransom money of R5 000.
The boy’s father, Celani Thusi (34), noticed that the text messages were sent from his son’s cellphone.
‘We reported that to the police and a missing person docket was changed to kidnapping.
‘Wanting to ensure that my son returns home alive, I followed his instruction and transferred the cash he demanded through money market.
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‘Later I discovered that my son’s phone was off, and the suspect could not withdraw the money,’ said Thusi.
The 37-year-old suspect was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and he led police to where he had buried the boy.
‘My son’s body was found buried next to the Super Sport ground, which is not far from our home.
‘We don’t know how he killed the boy. We await the postmortem report, which will give us a clear understanding on how he was murdered,’ he said.
Thusi said he was glad that his son was eventually found and the suspect brought to book, but the only thing that he wants is to know who was working with the accused.
‘I don’t want to believe that he was doing this on his own. I strongly believe that there are other people behind this case. I want the man to tell us why he killed my son,’ he said.
uMkhanyakude Police spokesperson, Captain Jabulani Mdletshe, confirmed the arrest and said the boy’s body was exhumed on Tuesday night.
‘The accused is expected to appear next Thursday in the Manguzi Magistrate’s Court,’ said Mdletshe.
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