PRETORIA – The Lenasia Magistrate’s Court has remanded two men in custody following their court appearance on charges of murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances, extortion, corruption, kidnapping, possession of suspected stolen property, and theft.
Spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said it is alleged that a week ago, the accused, Jason Theodore Boyers, 25, and Shannon Kevin Smith, 48, contacted Frans Mazuze, 55, to meet at an arranged location.
“A missing person file was reported to the authorities by his family after Mazuze failed to return home.
Mazuze’s body was later found at a nearby Kliptown field through a probe conducted by the police. Meanwhile the suspects allegedly demanded ransom of R20 000 in order to release Mazuze,” Mulamu said.
The matter was reported to the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation in Joburg for investigation.
“A multi-disciplinary approach driven operation conducted by the Hawks, crime intelligence, and tactical response team in Ekurhuleni resulted in the apprehension of Boyers and Smith in Noordgesig, Soweto on Sunday.
Upon searching Boyers and Smith, police recovered the deceased’s cellphone and seized it for investigation purpose.
“The pair was subsequently charged with murder, corruption, extortion, robbery with aggravated circumstances, kidnapping, possession of suspected stolen property, and theft,” Mulamu said.
“During Boyers and Smith’s appearance (on Tuesday), the court remanded them in custody pending investigation. Their bail application hearing is expected to be presented in court on Friday, 12 November 2021.”
Last month, it emerged that kidnappings have become big business in South Africa and kidnappers have become much more dangerous. This was the warning from kidnapping incident manager at TSU International, Advocate Herman Bosman, who said everyone should be much more vigilant, not just on the roads but also when leaving and arriving at home and work.
It comes as no surprise that Gauteng leads the race where most kidnappings happen in SA followed by KZN and the Western Cape. The 2019/2020 crime statistics showed that Kempton Park (122) occupied the top spot for the most kidnappings reported at a police station in that period; followed by Tembisa (74), Inanda in KZN (74), Randfontein (67) and Johannesburg Central (66).
IOL