Cape Town - A mother is praying that a body found in the Siqalo informal settlement on Monday afternoon is not that of her kidnapped 8-year-old son and has appealed for his safe return.
Police said the body of a boy found at Siqalo informal settlement cannot be linked to that of Lukhololwam Mokontwana.
The body of the unidentified boy, who police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said was about 10 years old, was found on Monday after 1pm in a bush off Weltevreden Road in Philippi.
Van Wyk said a murder case was opened and that a post-mortem would be conducted to determine the cause of death. He said police were busy following up on all leads and urged the public to come forward with information that could assist in the investigation.
Meanwhile, the distraught mother of kidnapped Lukhololwam, Noxolo Mkontwana, said the family was called by the Siqalo community leaders after the discovery of the body but could not identify the body as it was already covered. They also could not view the body at the mortuary, she said.
Mkontwana said she last spoke to the kidnappers on Saturday when they demanded a R100 000 ransom. However, she said she deposited R1 000 but never heard from them. Mkontwana said she could not speculate who the kidnappers were but said she was concerned that it was people who had her information.
Siqalo community leader Thelma Tshabile said when the body was discovered on Monday afternoon both hands and feet were tied with the face covered with brown tape from the eyes down to the chin.
“I was called about a body opposite the chicken farm, which was discovered by someone. Upon arrival the body was hidden under a tree and from what we could see the body was dumped on Sunday night,” she said.
While Tshabile could not confirm whether the body was Lukholwam’s, she said the clothes matched those that the family described when he went missing.
Tshabile, who also referred to the dumping of murdered magistrate Romay van Rooyen’s car in the area, said they were concerned that crimes were committed in other areas and perpetrators would dump remains of their criminal activities in the area.