After almost a year on the run, one of the Soutpansberg’s most wanted criminals is finally behind bars … again.

The 30-year-old Brighton Chauke’s reign of terror came to an end on Sunday afternoon (7 August) when he was captured by the police at Waterval (Elim).

Since his escape from the police’s holding cells in Musina on October 4 last year, Chauke had manage to elude capture while spreading terror within the farming community in die Beja area. At the time of his escape he, along with his brother Shorty, were both awaiting trial for a murder case in Musina as well as a spate of armed robberies in Louis Trichardt. Shorty (41) has since been sentenced to 45 years´ imprisonment on the armed robbery charges.

Chauke’s terror campaign in die Soutpansberg gained momentum after a housebreaking on one of the Rietvlei smallholdings at the beginning of May this year, during which a .303 rifle was stolen. Since then, Chauke and his two accomplices have been positively connected to a spate of violent armed robberies, housebreakings and attempted murders in the area. This included the violent and near-fatal attack on Messrs Jan Louw (49) and Ferdie Landman (19) on the farm Nooitgedacht on May 28. It has also come to light that Chauke has indeed been positively connected to the murder of the 51-year-old Mr Eric Neshunzhi on the farm Goedehoop on July 1.

Chauke’s run of luck came to an end on Sunday when a member of the public recognized him while Chauke was sitting around a fire with friends in Waterval. He apparently lodged at a house at the Mpheni informal village. The police were notified and Chauke was apprehended shortly afterwards. He did not put up any resistance. One of his accomplices, Victor Ndlovu (31), was also arrested.

According to local police spokesperson Capt Maano Sadike, the police recovered the .303 rifle, after Chauke took them to where he had hidden it on a farm near Beja. This rifle has, in the meantime, been positively identified as the one stolen during May at the Reitvlei smallholdings.

At the time of his arrest, Chauke and his accomplice had been linked to 43 serious crimes, including 16 housebreakings, 4 house robberies, 12 business break-ins and 1 business robbery, three attempted murders, three armed robberies, two car hijackings and two murders (the one in Musina and the one at Goedehoop).

Apart from the murder charge in Musina, all of the charges relate to cases reported in the Soutpansberg area since March this year. Police are at present still searching for a third known accomplice, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Both Chauke and Ndlovu appear in the Louis Trichardt District Court on Wednesday morning. Their case was, however, postponed until August 24. The court also proceeding with the cases of armed robbery against Chauke, for which his brother had already been sentenced.

News of Chauke’s arrest was met with a huge sigh of relief, especially among the local farming community.

Mr Stephen Hoffman, chairman of the Soutpansberg District Agricultural Union (SDAU), expressed gratitude towards the Waterval police and the Murder and Robbery Unit in Thohoyandou for their hard work in catching the man “who caused so much damage and sorrow” in the community.

Mr Doors Le Roux, safety chairman for the SDAU and TAU North, also thanked the police. He expressed the hope that the investigating officers will build a strong case against the accused, with the court ensuring that they are sent away for a very long time.