By REGINALD KANYANE
22 July 2025- Following a thorough investigation, the police successfully traced and arrested Petrus Pontsho Mzisa (29) at Hammanskraal Township, near Pretoria and Kagiso Patricia Molefe (37) in Moruleng, near Rustenburg on 17 July 2025. The duo together with Mkhize, briefly appeared before the Mogwase Magistrate’s Court on 21 July 2025, on two counts of house robbery, car hijacking and kidnapping.
The North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said their arrests emanate from a missing person case reported at Mogwase in June 2025. Myburgh said a multi-disciplinary investigation and tracking team consisting of Crime Intelligence, Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit, Rustenburg Vehicle Crime Investigating Unit (VCIU) and Mogwase Detectives, was tasked to activate a 72-hour operation to unravel the disappearance of the victim, David Filmone Monese (59).
“Monese was last seen at work on 27 June 2025. The team immediately got down to work, following a number of leads, which led to the identification and subsequent arrest of a suspect, Lucas Enock Mkhize (39) on 7 July 2025, on the N18 road, near Ramatlabama village, in Mahikeng, while evading police.
“The police took him to an address at Ramatlabama six hundred, where police confiscated cell phones and clothing believed to be ill-gotten loot from his criminal acts. He proceeded to take police to Hebron village in the Bangladesh Section, where the decomposed body of Monase was discovered in an open field, where he was dumped after being killed,” she said.
Myburgh further said a case of murder was immediately opened in Hebron against the suspect, before he was taken to Mogwase Police Cells, where further cases of kidnapping, house robbery and carjacking were opened. She added that Mkhize appeared before the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on 9 July 2025, on charges of murder, kidnapping, house robbery and carjacking.
“He was remanded in custody until 24 July 2025. Mzisa and Molefe were remanded in custody until 7 August 2025. Investigation into the matter continues,” said Myburgh.
Meanwhile, the acting North West Police Commissioner, West, Major General Patrick Asaneng said: “This dastardly, barbaric and abominable crime by these heartless ruffians has robbed the family, relatives and society of a hardworking, valuable member of the community and all the available police resources and expertise shall be deployed to make sure that justice is served.”
The Guardian 