Police confirmed on Wednesday that the man taken in for questioning at Ratombo on Saturday is not the notorious Brighton Chauke.

News of the possible capture of the 24-year-old Chauke spread like wildfire, with residents of the Levubu area breathing a sigh of relief.

“Now I can finally feel at ease when I go home again,” remarked a resident of the farm Palmietfontein. Her home had also fallen prey to a break-in a couple of weeks ago, believed to be the handiwork of the armed Chauke. Although she was not home, her domestic worker was overpowered and held captive while the house was ransacked.

But residents´ relief was short-lived with the announcement that the man was not Chauke. For the past two months, Chauke has been the main suspect in a spate of violent housebreakings and armed robberies in the Levubu area. This includes the violent and almost fatal attack on Messrs Jan Louw (49) and Ferdie Landman (19) on the farm Nooitgedacht on May 28. Many also believe that Chauke was responsible for shooting and killing the 51-year-old Mr Eric Neshunzhi on the farm Goedehoop on July 1, although police are adamant that the shooting is not necessarily connected to Chauke.

Lt Col Ronel Otto, the provincial spokesperson of the SAPS, said on Wednesday that the man taken in for questioning on Saturday was not Chauke. The man was picked up by the police for questioning after a farm labourer apparently recognized him from a wanted poster and contacted the police.

“They [police] took his fingerprints, everything, but he could not be connected,” said Otto, adding that the man, together with another man who had accompanied him to the farm where he was apprehended, was released without being charged.

It would indeed appear that police had the wrong suspect in custody. Otto confirmed another shooting incident during the early hours of Sunday morning, once again believed to be the work of Chauke. A female motorist from Muledani barely escaped death after someone shot at her vehicle with a high-powered rifle, possibly the stolen .303 used by Chauke. The woman was travelling along a Levubu Road. Fortunately, the bullet ricocheted into her vehicle’s bonnet and she managed to escape.

Chauke has been able to elude police since October last year when he and four fellow suspects escaped from the police’s holding cells in Musina. He, together with his 28-year-old brother Shorty, were awaiting trial for a murder case in Musina, as well as a spate of armed robberies in Louis Trichardt. Shorty has since been sentenced to 45 years´ imprisonment on the robbery charges and has yet to be tried for the murder in Musina.

Otto said a special task team, comprising police members from Makhado, Levubu and Thohoyandou, had intensified their hunt for Chauke this week .

Until Chauke is captured, it would seem that residents and members of the local farming community should continue being on high alert.