Day: December 22, 2022

PHUTHADITJHABA – Members of the Public Order Police Unit have arrested a 33-year-old suspect for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

The members were busy following up on information on unlicensed firearms and ammunition in Qwaqwa with focus at Phuthaditjhaba and Makwane. The team proceeded to Thabong village at an identified house where they found a man in possession of a firearm and ammunition with the serial number filed off.

The suspect is expected to appear before the Tseseng Magistrate Court on Friday, 23 December 2022.

Source: South African Police Service

POLOKWANE – The Police in Bela-Bela have opened two counts of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery after two women were shot dead and the other injured whilst travelling in a bus in the early hours of Thursday morning, 22 December 2022.

Three suspects apparently boarded a Harare-bound bus at Bosman in Pretoria, pretending to be passengers. The bus belonging to Copperbelt Bus Company, reportedly left Pretoria just after 01:00 this morning. As it passed Mantsole Weigh Bridge along the N1 road, one of the suspects allegedly produced a firearm and shot through the front windscreen, forcing the driver to pull over. The other suspects shot three women, instantly killing two and critically injuring the other.

All other passengers were then ordered to disembark and lie on the ground. They were thereafter robbed of their belongings, including cash, cellphones and passports. The suspects were thereafter allegedly picked up by another motor vehicle that was apparently following the bus.

The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has ordered that the suspects be hunted down and brought to book.

Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects may contact Captain Dana Smith on 081 577 4383, the crime stop number 0860010111 or send the message via MySAPSApp.

Source: South African Police Service

LEBOWAKGOMO- Police in Lebowakgomo have launched search operation for a missing 29-year-old female, Mphahlele Raphaahla Rosilinha Dipolelo of Dithabaneng village ga-Mphahlele.

According to the reports she was last seen by her younger sister at home on Sunday 11 December 2022.

She left home without informing anyone of where she was going.

The type of clothes she was wearing during her disappearance are currently unknown

Anyone with information of her whereabouts may contact the Investigating Officer Sergeant Ledwaba on 0725760974 or the nearest police station, Crime Stop on 0860010111. Information can also be shared via MySAPS App.

Source: South African Police Service

DURBAN – Following the arrest of double murder suspect Siphamandla Gumede and his three accomplices last week, subsequent to investigations by the Provincial Investigations and Tracking Task Team (PITTT) in conjunction with officers from the Rapid Rail Police Unit (RRPU) pointed to a security company in Amanzimtoti which is believed to be linked to the arrested suspects. With ‘Operation Qondisa’ leaving nothing to chance, police raided the company on Tuesday, 20 December 2022 and it was found to be in contravention of the Section 102 of the Firearms Control Act, Act No.60 of 2000.

Five rifles and four pistols were seized and will be taken to ballistic testing to ascertain if they were not used in the commission of crimes in and around the province. Police also seized 197 rounds of ammunition of various calibre.

Police wish to applaud community members who actively participate in crime prevention initiatives and alert the police of any criminal activity that is happening within communities. Security companies, like any entity within the security cluster are guided by legislations and any breach of law will not be tolerated.

Source: South African Police Service

NELSPRUIT – Police are in pursuit of suspects involved in a robbery incident that occurred in a certain fuel station at Embalenhle in the early hours of today, Thursday 22 December 2022 around 03:20 am.

During the incident it is alleged that a group of armed suspects detonated some explosives which damaged an ATM machine and suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of cash which they took from the said machine.

According to the report, a group of about four armed suspects wearing masks and hand gloves are said to have stormed into the fuel station where they held the staff at gunpoint. It is then that they (suspects) went for the ATM machine and carried out their mission. Law enforcement agencies were activated via a panic button and the security guards responded accordingly.

Prior to the suspects fleeing with the cash, they noticed the security officials arriving and reportedly fired some shots towards the guards who had responded. One of the shots reportedly hit the guards’ response vehicle, leaving it with a bullet hole but fortunately no injuries were reported.

Police at Embalenhle were informed about the robbery and upon arrival, a case of robbery with an additional charge of ATM Bombing was opened. The investigators will also probe the shooting which occurred. There were some cartridges which were found at the scene and an investigation has commenced though no one has been arrested so far hence police urge anyone with information that may assist in the investigation to call the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111 or send information via MYSAPSAPP. All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has emphasised that the suspects will surely be hunted down and it is just a matter of time before each one of them is brought to book.

Source: South African Police Service

FREE STATE – A 42-year-old suspect was arrested in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 21 December 2022 by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team together with Tactical Response Team (TRT) all based in Welkom for dealing in protected plants.

His arrest emanates from an incident which took place on Tuesday, 13 September 2022 where a female traffic official based in Kroonstad was doing normal patrol duties on the N1. She then drove to the filling station to pour fuel, while she was at the filling station she became suspicious of a vehicle, white kombi which was at the filling station. She approached the driver of the vehicle and asked for his driver’s license. While she was inspecting the drivers’ license and the vehicle she noticed that the back seat in the middle was removed and covered with the blankets. She requested the suspect to remove the blankets.

The suspect removed the blankets and the traffic official discovered that he is transporting protected plants (cycads) which he couldn’t account for. She then requested the suspect to follow her to the police station. While they were on their way to the police station the suspect stopped the vehicle and indicated that it had broken down. The suspect then tried to entice the traffic official who refused and called for backup. The suspect fled on foot and left the vehicle. Police came to the crime scene and impounded the vehicle for further investigation where they discovered the cycads estimated to the value of more than R2 million.

The suspect is expected to appear before the Kroonstad Magistrates’ Court today, 22 December 2022 where he will face charges of dealing in protected plants.

Source: South African Police Service

JOHANNESBURG— South African President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to unite the deeply-fissured African National Congress (ANC) and root out graft after the ruling party re-elected him as leader despite anger over a growing scandal.

Ending a five-day conference where the ANC’s rifts were on stark display, Ramaphosa said his first five years as party chief had been a “difficult journey”.

“We have encountered many problems, at times we have met fierce resistance,” he told an audience of more than 4,000 delegates.

“I see my task as uniting the ANC,” he said.

Turning to the corruption which has deeply stained the party’s image, he declared, “We either deal with this problem or we perish as an organisation.”

“We must show no money to those who steal money from the poor,” he said

Citing former Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 Havana entry speech, Ramaphosa posed the question to his party members, whether taking power was “just to be able to drive around in limousines, to own mansions and to live like kings?”

Ramaphosa, 70, secured a second term at the helm of the ANC after a bruising race against his former health minister, Zweli Mkhize.

He is being probed by the police and other agencies over the way he handled a burglary at his farm.

He allegedly covered up the theft of $580,000 in cash that was hidden under sofa cushions instead of reporting the loss to the authorities.

The ANC forced his predecessor Jacob Zuma to resign in 2018 over mounting corruption allegations.

Ramaphosa gained 2,476 party votes against 1,897 votes for Mkhize — a comfortable margin but one far smaller than would have been predicted only a few months ago.

His opening speech last week was disrupted by scores of delegates who heckled, banged on tables and chanted “Change! Change!”

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa recalled attempts during the conference “to provoke us.”

The vote outcome should be embraced by all, as “it’s the ANC that has spoken,” he declared.

Ramaphosa’s victory opens the way for him to a second term as South African president if the ANC win the next general elections, due in 2024. Under the constitution, the head of state is chosen by parliament.

But the ANC’s continued majority in the National Assembly is in doubt, given a slump in support.

In the last local government elections, it won less than 50 percent of the votes cast, a first in a history spanning more than a century.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK