THOHOYANDOU – A news reporter for the Sunday Sun newspaper, Mr Ndivhuwo Musetha, is a happy man again. This follows a breakthrough in the case that he reported at the Thohoyandou Police Station two weeks ago, on Friday, August 27, where several items were stolen from his vehicle.

Musetha’s vehicle was broken into by thugs during the night of Thursday, August 26. The thieves managed to steal valuable goods, including an Acer laptop computer, a Minolta digital camera, two 320 watts Pioneer car speakers, toilet utensils, a 128mb digital camera memory card, a cellular phone and a camera case.

The value of the stolen properties was estimated at about R33 000. Musetha’s employers, (Sunday Sun) had then promised a R2000 reward for any information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the thugs. The first suspect, Mutheiwana Tshiswaise (29) was arrested at Hamagidi village last Thursday. He was charged with the possession of stolen property after the police allegedly found him in possession of Musetha’s stolen camera.

He appeared in court last Friday and was released on R300 bail. The case was remanded until today, Friday, September 10.

His arrest led to more arrests over the weekend. Two residents of Miluwani village, Ndinannyi Masia (28) and Itani Swuhana (29), were arrested on Sunday. Upon their arrest, the two suspects were quick to tell the police about the people to whom they had sold the goods. They allegedly led the police to the people with whom they exchanged the goods for cash before they were taken to custody. A laptop computer, cellular phone and a digital camera’s memory card were recovered during their arrest.

They appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Their case was remanded until today, Friday, September 10, while the accused are still in custody.

In the statement that was released by the SAPS in the Vhembe Area this week, they praised the community members for the information that led to the arrest of the suspects.