Newlands East Police are investigating a case of murder after two bodies were found in a bush in Riverdene, Newlands West, recently.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said on arrival at the scene police found unknown males with gunshot wounds lying next to a white vehicle. “One of the victims was later identified as a man who was allegedly kidnapped by unknown people on 4 December in the Ntuzuma area and the second victim is still unknown,” she said.
The body was identified as that of 42-year-old Nigerian national, Johnathan Eloho Okinedo, who was kidnapped on Saturday, 4 December.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) director, Prem Balram, said prior to the discovery of the bodies, they had received a complaint from a resident who alleged that on 4 December at 10.32am, his brother went to Ntuzuma to install a DSTV decoder and later that day he received a call from him demanding that he transfer a sum of R2 000 since he was in trouble. “His wife and brother arrived at the Reaction Unit South Africa headquarters seeking assistance in locating him. They had paid the kidnappers twice and he was not released. According to his wife, Okinedo, also known as Jojo, is a DSTV technician who left to the Senzokwethu Secondary School in H Section Ntunzuma on Saturday, 4 December, at approximately 10.30am to meet a client wanting to install a decoder.
The client had called at 6.45am the same morning, requesting a technician. His family received a call from his cellphone later the same day and Okinedo informed them that he was held against his will and the kidnappers were demanding R2 000 for his release. The family negotiated the amount to R500 and the money was transferred via e-wallet to a provided mobile number. The victim was allowed to speak to his family for a few minutes before the call was abruptly disconnected. Both phones were then switched off and the victim was not released,” said Balram.
He added that on Sunday, 5 December, in the morning at approximately 9.45am, the kidnappers called the family from a new number demanding R5 000 for release of the victim. “The family explained that they could not transfer that amount via e-wallet and the amount of R1 500 was agreed upon. When the transfer was done, the kidnappers switched off the phone and Okinedo was not released,” he said.
