Former NPA head Pikoli’s son found dead in bed
THE parents of multimedia journalist and author Phumlani Pikoli have made the “gruesome discovery” of his “lifeless body lying in bed”.
Family spokesperson Twiggs Xiphu said yesterday the 33-year-old Phumlani was found dead at an apartment in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Phumlani is the son of former National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli and his wife Girlie.
They had become concerned when they could not reach him on his cellphone on Saturday, driving from their Pretoria home to check on him the next day.
Phumlani had been looking after his brother’s apartment and animals, and his parents last spoke to him on Friday, TimesLive reported.
Xiphu told IOL Phumlani had been living with his parents in Faerie Glen, Pretoria, and was working on converting his new book, Born Freeloaders, into a film.
In 2016, he published a collection of short stories, The Fatuous State of Severity.
The family said: “It is with a heavy heart filled with sadness and sorrow that we have to announce the passing on of Phumlani Pikoli.
“The gruesome discovery of Phumlani’s lifeless body lying in bed is something that no parent needs to go through,’’ said a grieving Vusi Pikoli, noted for instigating criminal charges against disgraced national police commissioner Jackie Selebi and then ANC president Jacob Zuma.
The cause of death is still under investigation.
There are plans to have a memorial service tomorrow and the funeral two days later.
More details will be communicated later, Xiphu said.