Dad to spend Christmas behind bars after allegedly confessing to murdering his son

A father accused of murdering his son will spend Christmas behind bars after the boy’s remains were dug up in Cape Town.

Isaac Mukuma, 59, appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on a murder charge on Monday, two days after his son, Simion Mluyi, was unearthed near a canal in Soneike, Kuils River.

Wearing a green hoodie, the bearded accused appeared somewhat disorientated when the case against him was postponed to December 30 for bail proceedings.

The Namibian national and the 12-year-old boy were last seen together on November 30, according to a missing person’s flyer.

Mukuma apparently said they were going to Vredendal, but they never arrived there.

Police sources said the boy was unable to speak owing to a mental disability.

Both of them were reported missing.

Police in Van Rhynsdorp on the West Coast recognised Mukuma after photographs of him and Mluyi were circulated, police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said.

He was taken in and transported to Cape Town where he confessed to killing his son on Saturday, she said.

What is believed to be Mluyi’s body was retrieved near the canal in Soneike, Kuils River, after Mukuma pointed out where the remains were buried.

The corpse will undergo DNA testing to confirm if it is indeed Mluyi.

Family members who attended proceedings on Monday attempted to speak to Mukuma after he left the dock but police would not allow them to have contact with him.

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