Police baffled by businessman’s murder

Published Apr 13, 2013

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Johannesburg - If there was one thing Nazier Kolia was passionate about, it was soccer. He loved English team Liverpool FC and very rarely missed a game.

And last Sunday was no different. Kolia was determined not to miss his team play West Ham, even though he had “some business” to take care off before the kick-off.

He woke up early that morning and left Lenasia to head to Westonaria on the West Rand to collect some money, because he was a used-car salesman.

Before leaving home, Kolia told his wife, Rihana, that he wouldn’t be out for too long, as he wanted to make sure that he would be home in time for the football match at 2pm.

That would be the last time she spoke to her husband.

Kolia never returned home. His wife contacted him numerous times in the day, but his phone just rang.

She sent him SMSes, Whatsapp messages and BBM messages, but her husband did not reply. Later in the day, his phone was switched off and Rihana began to panic.

Kolia, his wife and three sons were meant to leave to go back to Durban later that day.

She contacted the police and reported her husband missing. She also gathered family members to help her search for him.

The day came and went, but there was still no sign of her husband. The family as well as the police had searched throughout the day, but with no luck.

The next day, however, Rihana received the call she had been dreading. They had found her husband dead. His body had been stuffed into the back of his silver Volvo station-wagon. He had suffered a single bullet wound to his chest.

The car was found abandoned on a farm near Fochville, west of Joburg. A farmer close by had spotted the abandoned car and alerted the police.

Kolia, wearing his favourite Liverpool shirt, was found dead in the car. None of his valuables, including his watch and wallet, had been taken, and his firearm was found in the back seat of his car.

His cellphone had been smashed to pieces and thrown next to his body.

His body was taken to the mortuary on Monday afternoon, and he was laid to rest later that evening at the Avalon cemetery in Lenasia.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, Kolia’s estimated time of death was at midnight on Sunday.

Police said no arrests had been made in connection with the murder and that details were still very sketchy.

A close family friend, Ziyaad Mayet, said the Kolia family were in shock following his death.

“The family is devastated, but trying to be strong for each other,” said Mayet. “It has come as a huge shock for all of us. He ran a successful business and everything was above board. He had no enemies. None of us can understand what went wrong.”

Mayet said Kolia had come to Joburg two weeks ago to visit family in Lenasia, as it had been the school holidays.

He had come with his wife and three sons to Joburg. However, his daughter, Nabila, who is married and lives in Cape Town, did not join them.

“Every school holidays, Nazier use to come to Joburg so his kids could enjoy the holidays with their cousins. He didn’t come for any specific reason - it was routine for him to.”

Mayet had last spoken to Kolia on Sunday morning, and recalls how excited his friend was about the Liverpool game.

“He kept telling me how he couldn’t wait to watch the Liverpool game, as he had been looking forward to it for days.

“Nazier had been fanatical about Liverpool. He used to go overseas and watch them live whenever possible, so he really loved his team. He visited Anfield several times, and also went for all of Liverpool’s cup finals in recent years.”

Aside from his love for Liverpool, Nazier has been described as an “amazing father and husband”.

“He loved his wife and kids so much, and did everything possible to make sure that they were always happy. He was extroverted, fun-loving, warm, extremely generous, and very good-hearted.”

Mayet recalls how Kolia had once surprised him at his wedding with a generous gift.

“Out of the blue, Nazier came up to me at my wedding and handed me R10 000 and said: ‘This is for your honeymoon.’ He was such a generous guy and would do anything for his loved ones.”

Mayet said Kolia had also been a very hard-working man.

“His business was retail, and he was also a wholesale used-car salesman. He always gave his all in everything he did.”

Mayet said Kolia had also loved playing football.

Saturday Star

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