DELMAS – The Delmas police are still investigating the whereabouts of 31-year-old Christopher Modupi Moloi who was last seen on 29 February night in a Daveyton tavern called Tsunami.
The family of the Botleng Secondary School teacher has been searching for their son for two months now since he last disappeared into the Daveyton tavern where he went with his cousin. Moloi’s car was found outside Tsunami tavern a few days later in the possession of a Mozambican national, 29-year-old Antonio Muianga, according to Delmas police where the case of the missing person was first opened.
Muianga had by the time already changed the registration of Moloi’s Renault Clio vehicle which the police managed to locate through a tracker. According to Delmas police, Muianga was arrested on the spot in the company of two females and is allegedly under police custody for further pending investigations. The case of the missing person was later transferred to the Daveyton police station according to Delmas Police.
The Mozambican suspect has already attended a first court hearing at Daveyton court, however, the court case has been postponed several times and later transferred to Benoni Magistrate’s Court. Tsunami tavern owner and also a Lesotho national, Michael Tlogotswewu, was arrested for allegedly selling Moloi’s vehicle to Muianga. Tlogotswewu was released on bail on 8 March at the Daveyton court, which is now with the Benoni Court.
The release of suspect, Tlogotswewu, on his first court appearance left the already devastated family of the missing Moloi crying injustice. The family has complained at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court to the Prosecutor regarding the release of suspect Tlogotswewu on bail as he had sold the car of their son to Muianga. The family is reportedly dissatisfied with the way the investigating officer is handling the case as he is allegedly stalling.
According to the family, they are always told to relax by the detective handling the case. The Prosecutor reportedly advised the family to write a formal letter of complaint to the court regarding how this investigation is being handled.
Daveyton station commander said their priority was for the investigation of the missing vehicle which was apparently not owned but hired by the missing person. “The missing person docket was used for the investigation of the missing vehicle in order to establish the origins of the missing vehicle. The docket will be brought back to Delmas where the case of the missing person was first opened and the investigation of the missing person will be continued there,” said the station commander.
“There was unfortunately not enough evidence to link the two young men [Tlogotswewu and Muianga] implicated in the missing vehicle case to the case of the missing person. It was then unfortunate that the other young man, the tavern owner, was released on bail by the court,” he said.
“The further information on the investigation should be with Delmas police who have reportedly said that the family recently went to identify two deceased bodies in Leslie area and none of the bodies are Moloi’s,” said the station commander.
