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Thivhileli Hlungwane (23).

Alleged cop killers in court

 

Hardly a week has passed since Limpopo Police Commissioner Lt Gen Fannie Masemola promised the family of the slain policeman, W/O Thomas Mabada, and the people of Limpopo that the police would leave no stone unturned in the hunt of the killers.

The 52-year-old warrant officer from Tshivhilidulu outside Thohoyandou, who was attached to the Siloam police, was killed in an ambush while chasing armed robbers from Siloam towards the Thohoyandou area at Lwamondo a fortnight ago.

The police made a major breakthrough last week when they arrested three suspects, two of whom were positively linked to the murder of the dedicated policeman. One of the suspects could not be linked to the murder, but he has been connected to other cases allegedly committed with the other two.

According to Limpopo police spokesperson Col Ronel Otto, the suspects were arrested by a team of detectives and crime intelligence members who were investigating cases of business robberies in the Mogwadi area. "They followed up on information and traced the suspects to the Thohoyandou area last Wednesday evening. The suspects attempted to run away, but they were traced down and arrested. Further investigations already link the suspects to house robberies, business robberies and vehicle hijacking in the greater Thohoyandou area," she said.

Otto further indicated that intensive investigation by the detective team then linked two of the arrested to the murder of the policeman. Three suspects, Norman Mnisi (33), Thivhileli Hlungwane (23) and Dakalo Makhavhu, first appeared in the Mphephu Magistrate's Court on Friday on a separate charge of attempted murder of another police officer and vehicle hijacking. Norman Mnisi and Thivhileli Hlungwane later appeared in the Vuwani Magistrate's Court on a charge of murdering W/O Mabada. Makhavhu could not be linked to the murder of the police officer.

The case against Thivhileli Hlungwane and Norman Mnisi was postponed to 13 November (today) for a formal bail application.

During the funeral service of Mabada, Lt Gen Masemola hailed the team that worked around the clock to nail the killers. “As we said, we would not leave any stone unturned in tracking down the killers and other criminals. We are happy that three of the most wanted are now behind bars, but there are still some outstanding and we are making an appeal to the community to expose them. These criminals we arrested stayed at houses and people accepted blood money. Please let us expose them and that we make this community free of crime,” said Masemola.

The arrest and subsequent appearance in court of the alleged killers of Mabada came as good news to the family. "The speed with which the police managed to hunt down and arrest the killers gives us hope as a family. The killing caused a lot of  pain in the family, but we are comforted by the way the police are handling this case. The arrest will also ease the pain we have as a family," said Zakes Mabada, a family member.  

 

News - Date: 16 November 2015

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Norman Mnisi (33).

 

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Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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