South Africa: Ten More Soldiers Arrested for Hawks Investigator's Murder

By Doreen Mokgolo

Ten more SANDF soldiers arrested for Hawks investigator Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa's highway murder in August.

All 12 suspects appeared in the Randburg court with the state opposing the bail application set for July.

Ten more South African National Defence Force soldiers have been arrested for the murder of Hawks investigator Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa.

The soldiers handed themselves over to Hawks investigating officers in Johannesburg on Monday.

Mathipa was attached to the Crimes Against the State section within the Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit in Gauteng.

He was fatally shot while driving on the N1 highway near Hammanskraal on 6 August 2023. He was on duty conducting an investigation when he was killed.

After the shooting, his car lost control and crashed into a ditch.

The ten new arrests follow the capture of two other SANDF officers on Sunday. They were arrested at OR Tambo International Airport and in Centurion by the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Tactical Operations Management teams.

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Singo said police seized a car belonging to a 36-year-old suspect during the operation. The car was allegedly used in the kidnapping of two male foreign nationals at a mall in Midrand on 29 December 2022.

"They are facing charges of murder, fraud and kidnapping," he said.

All 12 suspects appeared before the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The case has been postponed to 1 July for a formal bail application. The state is planning to oppose bail for all the accused.

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