Elisha Molefe

Elisha Molefe

The decomposed body of a 27-year-old Mafikeng journalist has been recovered from a pit toilet, 12 days after he went missing.

The dread-locked Thozamile Kole was found strangled with his belt around his neck in a pit toilet at Matlhonyane village near Mafikeng on Tuesday night.

According to Mafikeng police spokesman Captain Mabel Mosidi, it seems Kole was assaulted and killed somewhere before his body was dumped in the pit toilet.

Mosidi said a man and an 18-year-old youth were arrested for the murder while a Pakistani businessman and a Zimbabwean national were arrested for receiving stolen goods.

Police used a helicopter and sniffer dogs after Kole's stripped car was found abandoned near Dithakong village, just a few kilometres from where his body was discovered. Kole's cell phone was found by police in the possession of the Pakistani, a local businessman. Police also arrested the Zimbabwean national who tried to hide Kole's car wheels when he saw the police.

All the men will appear in court once the police have conducted a post-mortem.

Kole's family was yesterday still trying to finalise his funeral because his body was in an advanced state of decomposition. At the time of his death, Kole was working for Taxi Time in Mafikeng.