Three in court in missing man case

THREE men who allegedly kidnapped and killed a Port Elizabeth man in a botched robbery appeared in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Khayalethu Lubisi, 18, Unathi Mxazi, 24, and Mvuzo Haphangwana, 25, allegedly killed Unathi Bless, 39, who lived in Kabega Park, last month.

According to police, Lubisi and Mxazi were arrested on Saturday and Haphangwana on Sunday.

They will remain in custody pending a formal bail application on September 28.

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the men were all arrested in Motherwell.

Bless was reported missing by his wife, Nolubabalo, on August 31 after the couple had met at 2pm at the Greenacres Shopping Centre.

Bless was then meant to go back to work, in Newton Park, but never turned up.

“He failed to return to work and attempts to reach him on his cellphone proved futile,” Naidu said.

Sources linked to the investigation said Bless had gone to a house in iKamvelihle, Motherwell, where he was attacked and killed.

Why he had gone there was still unclear.

According to police, Bless appeared to have been beaten to death in what was supposed to be a robbery.

At the weekend, police forensic experts scoured the iKamvelihle house and found traces of blood and evidence that suggest the murder took place there.

Bless’s white Chevrolet Aveo was found abandoned in Motherwell three days after he was reported missing.

The car had been stripped and abandoned in a side street in NU9 – several kilometres from where the body was found.

“After the arrests, the suspects took police to the bushes near NU29 on the Uitenhage Road,” Naidu said.

“The body, which was in an advanced stage of decomposition, was found in the bushes.”

The body was dumped about 4m from the road behind a bush.

Asked about the motive, Naidu said it was thought to have been a robbery that went wrong.

“We suspect that the motive was robbery, during which time he [Bless] was kidnapped and subsequently murdered.

“We are still awaiting the postmortem results to establish the exact cause of death,” she said.

“If the family are unable to identify the body, DNA samples will also be taken to assist with the identification process.”