ZiMoja updates on the latest crime news in parts of the country.
EASTERN CAPE: A 20-year-old man who is the 8th suspect in the Lusikisiki mass shooting last year September has been arrested. The man was arrested yesterday by the members of the provincial serious and violent crime investigation unit on a bus heading to Cape Town. According to police spokesperson Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, after a thorough investigation, the police cornered the bus that the suspect was travelling in at the King Williams Town bus station. "Upon searching the bus, they found the 20-year-old male, who was the only outstanding suspect in the Lusikisiki mass shooting. He was immediately arrested and will be charged accordingly. He is due to appear at Lusikisiki Magistrate Court soon," Mawisa said.
WESTERN CAPE: The Delft police are investigating double murder and attempted murder cases after a 42-year-old man and his 19-year-old daughter were shot dead in their home on Friday. A 40-year-old female escaped unharmed. Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said victims were at home when they heard gunshots on the outside of their house. Twigg added that unknown gunmen then entered the house and shot the male and female before fleeing the scene. Both victims were declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. Police urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or send information on the MySAPS App.
NORTH WEST: Police in Hartbeespoortdam have arrested five suspects in connection with the kidnapping and murder of 26-year-old Lesego Klaas Makaku. Makaku had gone to a tavern at the Sangiro informal settlement outside Hartbeespoortdam on New Year’s Eve with his girlfriend when he was accused of stealing a cellphone. He was allegedly forcefully dragged outside the tavern to the street, where he was severely beaten by a group of people. He was later dragged to the nearby dam and thrown inside. His girlfriend informed his mother about the incident, and a missing person’s case was opened and police divers searched the area around the dam, but the body could not be found. Colonel Sam Tselanyane said enquiries were conducted around the area about the last people seen with Makaku, and subsequently, on Thursday, 02 January 2025, two people of interest were taken in for questioning. "During the interrogation, one of the suspects took the team of investigators to bushes where the half-naked body of the victim was found in the early stages of decomposition. Following the discovery of the body, police went to the shacks of three more suspects, and they were also apprehended; one suspect is still at large," Tselanyane said. All suspects, aged between 19 and 40, are expected to appear before the Brits Magistrates Court today on charges of kidnapping and murder.
