Day: July 7, 2022

MPUMALANGA – John Leonard Du Plooy (32) was remanded in custody by the Roodepoort Regional Court on Thursday, 07 July 2022 for murder and aggravated robbery. The case was allegedly committed in August 2018 at Roodepoort by the accused already serving two life sentences and additional 30 years imprisonment for Springs and Alberton murder and aggravated robbery cases which were committed in June and September 2018 respectively.

Du Plooy is a co-accused of Shaun Oosthuizen (42) who was sentenced to four (4) direct life imprisonment plus 80 years imprisonment by the Pretoria Regional Court on 16 May 2022.

The arrest of the two accused followed the investigation of the multiple murders of the four old women who were brutally killed from different old age homes around Mpumalanga and Gauteng Provinces between 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The case against Du Plooy was postponed to 22 July 2022 for attorney. The accused is in custody in Johannesburg Prison.

The Hawks’ Provincial Head, Major General Zodwa Mokoena applauded the investigating team for securing such substantial life sentences and hope for the additional life sentences. “We appreciate the collaboration between the investigators and judiciary for ensuring that the heartless criminals who tormented the elderly who could not defend for themselves are removed from the community”, she said. She further urged anyone who is responsible for safeguarding of the elderly to take extra precaution as they cannot fight for themselves.

Source: South African Police Service

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has permanently removed 46 592 firearms from circulation in a period of six months. This follows a firearms destruction process where firearms, ammunition and firearm parts which had either been seized during crime prevention operations, voluntarily surrendered or forfeited to the state were destroyed in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.

Today, 20 590 of the firearms were destroyed, 15 465 of those destroyed are handguns while 2686 are rifles, 1855 are shotguns and the rest are firearm parts.

In March this year, 26 002 were also destroyed, bringing the total number of firearms and firearm parts destroyed to 46 592.

The process to demolish the firearms today was overseen by the Divisional Commissioner responsible for Visible Policing and Operations, Lieutenant General Michael Mohlala.

All firearms that have been destroyed were subjected to Ballistic testing to determine if they were utilised in any commission of a crime. The SAPS confirms that all firearms have been cleared.

Of the 46 592 firearms, the majority of firearms were either surrendered and voluntarily handed over to the state during the 2019/2020 as well as the 2020/2021 Firearms Amnesty period, confiscated and seized by police during intelligence driven operations, routine stop and searches as well as tip-offs from community members that are committed to ensuring that illegal firearms are permanently removed from circulation.

The SAPS will continue to intensify its operations to detect and remove illegal firearms and ammunition from the streets of South Africa, as they pose a threat to the safety and security of the inhabitants of this country. The organization therefore takes this opportunity to commend members of the public for playing a part in making South Africa a safer place to live in. The Service remains confident that destroying these firearms will ensure that they are permanently removed from circulation.

Source: South African Police Service

HERTZOGVILLE – On 05 July 2022 at about 23:58, a famer notified Hertzogville police about sheep stolen from his farm by four unknown men.

Constables Olebogeng Moremi and Betta Thipe of Hertzogville SAPS Visible Policing responded instantly and arrested a 33-year-old man on the scene. Three other suspects managed to flee and disappeared in the dark.

The ten sheep valued at R25 000-00 stolen from the farm were recovered and handed back to the farmer.

A case of stock theft and possession of suspected stolen livestock was registered.

The 33-year-old man will appear on the 07 July 2022 in the Hertzogville Magistrate Court.

Source: South African Police Service

WELKOM – On 05 July 2022 at about 22:05, a 23-year-old security officer was on duty at corner of Tempest and Alma road Dagbreek Welkom when he was allegedly approached by two suspects who pointed him with firearms. One of the suspects grabbed his shotgun from behind and took his personal firearm with seven live ammunitions, an IPhone, Tablet, IPad Mini 4, Identity Document, driver’s license, two bank cards and a firearm license.

They dragged him into an open field where there were seven to eight additional suspects. The other suspects went to Welkom Electrical site and left him with two suspects. The victim could hear shots being fired and all the suspects fled on foot including the two who were guarding him.

He was rescued by security personnel and the police.

A case of armed robbery was registered for further investigation. Anyone with information leading to the arrest of the suspects, Welkom SAPS Detective can be contacted at 082 848 8120 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

Source: South African Police Service

THABONG – Members were monitoring the situation at Central University of Technology and it was quiet, then they decided follow up on information provided on drug dealing in Thabong.

On the 06 July 2022 members of Welkom POP Reaction Team identified a house and approached the owner to ask for permission to conduct a search. The members found and seized 139 full Mandrax tablets and four (4) halves of Mandrax tablets with cash that amounts to R1 630-00. A 45-year-old man was arrested.

The suspect cooperated with SAPS members and showed them where he bought the drugs. A residence was identified in Reitzpark Welkom and a suspect was approached. 50 full Mandrax tablets were found in his possession and seized. The 38-year-old suspect was arrested.

Both suspects will appear soon in the Welkom Magistrate Court.

Source: South African Police Service

WESTERN CAPE – Philippi SAPS are seeking the assistance of the public in tracing Rosemary Appollis, 51-years-old who went missing on 4 July 2022.

Preliminary investigation brought to light that she was last seen at Lansdowne Corner Mall at the corners of Jan Smuts Drive and Govan Mbeki Road, Hanover Park. She left the mall on foot.

At the time of her disappearance she was dressed in a pink dress, black and red short sleeve jersey, red slip-ins and a red baseball cap.

Anyone with information can contact the investigation officer Detective Captain Gerald Gysman at 079 894 1334 or 021 690 1502 alternatively Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

Source: South African Police Service

The City of Cape Town would like to advise all residents to log their service requests via sms, email, Whatsapp or by calling the City’s 24-hour call centre this weekend. The City’s E-services portal will be unavailable from 17:00 on Friday, 8 July 2022 until 07:00 on Monday, 11 July 2022 while the Customer Relations Management (CRM) System is upgraded to a new version.

Residents will not be able to log their service requests online via the E-services portal for this period and should make use of the various channels to log service requests:

Email contact.us@capetown.gov.za with all service requests

Call the 24-hour Customer Relations Centre on 0860 103 089 with all service requests

Email account queries to accounts@capetown.gov.za

WhatsApp on 060 018 1505 for all water related queries

SMS to 31373 for all water faults

SMS to 31220 for all electricity faults

Residents who use these channels over this period will receive a reference number as per usual.

The City apologises for the inconvenience while important and unavoidable system upgrades are implemented during this time.

‘We ask for the understanding and patience from our customers this weekend while the E-services portal is unavailable. Our team will ensure that enough staff will be available to respond via the other available channels. We remain committed to enhancing our customer relations management system and want to ensure that this upgrade is implemented smoothly over the next few days. I encourage customers to please make use of the email and messaging options, if possible, before calling,’ said the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Alderman Theresa Uys.

The City’s dedicated agents will attend to all requests as efficiently as possible.

Source: City Of Cape Town