A 42-year-old man is expected to appear before the Mbibane Magistrate’s Court facing a case of murder of his girlfriend, Maria Malinga aged 37.
This horrific incident occurred at Marapyane on 27 June 2020 and it adds more sorrow to the scores of tragic incidents where women suffer immense violence at the hands of their abusers who are people they are in relationships with.
According to the information available, the two were staying together at the woman’s place.
Details also emerged that there was a history of Domestic Violence between the two, which prompted the woman to apply for a Protection Order against her boyfriend and it was served to him accordingly.
This time around an argument broke out between them that led to the sad ending at which the suspect allegedly assaulted and murdered her.
The police as well as the medical personnel were notified about the incident and on arrival they found the victim lying on the ground in front of the neighbour’s gate with visible injuries on her body where she was immediately rushed to hospital but was unfortunately, she was certified dead upon arrival.
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma has strongly condemned this incident and called on men to treat their partners with dignity.
“Men must refrain from using violence to resolve domestic issues. Gender-Based-Violence is not something that can be regarded as normal and this behaviour must not be condoned,” said General Zuma.
Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma
Meanwhile the suspect is expected to appear before the Mbibana Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, Monday, 29 June 2020.
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SAPS investigates a case of murder as woman dies of alleged gunshot wounds
In a terrible incident on Saturday 28 June, Sussarah Johana Potgieter, better known as Rehan, lost her life when she was allegedly shot in the back. A pellet gun was used according to initial police reports.
The incident took place in Bethal, Mpumalanga.
Bethal Police are now investigating a case of murder.
Rehan is described by members of her family as a person with a bubbling personality. “She was a hardworking and compassionate person,” Said Yolandi Theron, family member, “She had a contagious personality and were always laughing.”
Rehan Potgieter and her Husband Hendry
“I cannot imagine why anyone would want to do her any harm,” concluded Yolandi
Bethal police received a complaint from Bethal hospital about a female who had been admitted due to multiple injuries and the she had sucummed to injuries, this was at approximately 11H00.
On arrival at hospital, police were led to the ward by Doctor Sandie Nkumane who examined the patient. According to information at police disposal, two males arrived at hospital with a female patient that had sustained multiple back injuries from pellet gun-shots. One of the pellets was extracted from her body. The pellet did not penetrate the abdominal area and could therefore be easily extracted.
“Further information revealed was that the lady was with her husband outside their home while their daughter and the son in-law were in the house when the husband heard a terrible sound and when he looked at his wife, he saw her falling.” Stated the SAPS in a press release, “He then rushed to check on her and called out the children for help. While busy assisting the wife, the son in-law noticed blood on the t-shirt she was wearing and asked the father in-law to take her to hospital.”
The Local Criminal Record Centre was summoned to the scene and discovered the twenty-one wounds allegedly resulting from the pellet shots.
The Bulletin enquired about the alleged pellet gun and raised the question if it could be a shotgun rather that a pellet gun. Bethal SAPS confirmed that the initial investigation indicates a pellet gun
The police are now investigating a case of murder and request anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect to call Detective Sergeant Thembinkosi Maseko with contact number 083 2385 546
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma has strongly condemned incidents where some parents at Mmametlhake violently stormed into schools, disrupted the process of teaching and learning claiming that their children were not safe from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This unlawful act happened on Thursday, 25 June 2020, at Seabe Village in Mmametlhake and General Zuma submits that it must not be condoned nor supported by anyone as it portrays a degree of an unpatriotic society and the police will make arrests.
General Zuma further indicated that the government through the executive authority of the National Command Council and scientists, unanimously took a decision to resume schooling in the country. All precautionary health protocols were put in place to be adhered to by the Department of Education with strict compliance thereof.
The police as the law enforcement agency, hold a view that parents should take government into confidence in its endeavour to restore the country back to its originality, economically as well as educationally.
“Therefore, we see no reason why a section of parents would want to force the government to renege from its principled decision,” said General Zuma.
Police observed in dismay the involvement of an elderly person and an opinion leader who were caught aggressively participating in this shameful act of calling for the closure of schools.
The narrative by police spirals from the fact that two of the 13 suspects arrested, one is a 77-year-old pensioner and the other a Councillor.
“It is therefore unacceptable that when police are responding to allegations of lawlessness, they discover that an elderly citizen as well as a public representative are the ones inciting such a despicable act,” said General Zuma.
General Zuma also took this opportunity to remind the community that the reopening of schools is aimed at recovering the time lost due to the lockdown period.
Therefore, the police will not allow a minority group to engage in unlawful ways to destroy the much awaited recovery plan aimed at aiding our children.
The General is therefore making a clarion call to all community members not to attempt to emulate what these suspects have done as this is a serious offense.
The allegations levelled against the suspects are viewed by the police in a serious light and they are condemned in the strongest possible terms.
What the police have gathered is that the group allegedly connived with each other and went to Dikotelo Combined, Ramoshidi as well as Seage High Schools in Seabe village, where in Dikotelo, they were allegedly found inside the yard of the school premises driving in two cars.
According to reports, the group was disrupting schools by forcefully removing children from classes, also disrupting the process of teaching and learning.
Police intervened and stopped them from further escalating the situation hence the arrests. They also seized two vehicles which were used during this criminal act.
“As custodians of the law, we cannot allow this anarchy to rule and continue unabated, hence the arrest. I strongly hold a view that despite the concerns that people might have, however, they cannot be allowed to be unruly. I, therefore, urge the community to desist from perpetuating violence as a means to air their grievances, ” said Provincial Commissioner, General Zuma.
All the suspects were slammed with a R500 bail each and will be back at the Mbibane Magistrate’s Court on 14 August 2020.
The police and the forensic pathologist are looking for the family or anyone who knows him to contact them on the following numbers: Detective Warrant Officer Abram Nkonde: 060 5838 563 or Mr Bakkie Jele on 073 3101 305.
eMbalenhle township is one of the places that have many people from various places across the country. As a result, there are many rooms rented out but take extreme caution as thieves are targeting bachelors
Almost all the sections in eMbalenhle have a room that is rented out to an individual.
There is a new criminal activity that is happening around eMbalenhle; thieves are targeting individuals who stay in rented outside rooms.
The thieves come around midnight or in the early hours of the morning. They knock on the door and when the occupant asks: “Who is there?” the thieves keep quiet and eventually leave.
If this happens and no one responds when the thieves knocked, they will break into the room and help themselves to the belongings of the occupant.
In instances where they know that the room is rented by a female occupant, they will try to break in and steal anything they want.
In some sections (extensions 14, 15, 19 and 20) there are groups of gangs who target rooms and commit crimes.
If by any chance someone knocks at your door or next door around midnight or in the early hours of the morning, please call SAPS or anyone that can come to your rescue.
This comes across as organised crime as the thieves target places where there are scheduled power cuts.
Whether you respond or not, criminals will try to break in.
The SAPS in Mpumalanga are warning the public to be extra vigilant of hijackers targeting drivers who often park their vehicles along the roadside.
This warning from the SAPS spirals from hijacking incidents that have occurred previously as well as recent ones, Wednesday 24 June 2020, to be precise, at Vosman and Kabokweni respectively, where victims were hijacked by armed men.
The Kabokweni incident involves a 32-year-old man who was driving his white Ford Ranger, stopped his car to respond to the call of nature but left the engine still idling.
A few moments later, an unknown white Volkswagen Golf abruptly stopped next to his car, the occupants held him at gunpoint and forced him into the boot of the suspects’ car.
The other suspect drove off with the victim’s bakkie and he was later left stranded at an unknown location.
The victim however, managed to make his way to the police station where he reported the ordeal.
Police, in partnership with a tracking company, immediately commissioned an investigation into this matter and recovered the vehicle at Kanyamazane policing precinct on Thursday, 25 June.
On the same day, this time at Vosman near Witbank, a 43-year-old man was robbed by an unknown number of suspects while driving in a white Toyota Club Cab company vehicle on the Clewer road at about 15h00.
The victim explained that the robbery happened when he was making a call while his vehicle parked on the side of the road.
He saw a GWM bakkie which stopped right behind his vehicle and at that time, he was not suspicious of anything as he thought the occupants wanted to enquire if he needs assistance.
Two men alighted from the GWM and approached his vehicle when suddenly one man pointed a firearm at him.
They violently instructed him to drive in the direction they gave him.
The trip ended at an old building where there was an additional six people where the victim was searched and assaulted. They took his bank cards, personal belongings and also forced him to give them the pin codes to his bank cards while he blindfolded with a blanket.
The victim further mentioned that he was left behind guarded by two suspects whilst the others went to help themselves to his money.
The other incident also took place around Vosman policing precinct in which a 57-year-old man was hijacked too.
The victim narrated his plight at the police station.
He was driving his maroon Volkswagen Golf 3 at about 15h30, when he suddenly noticed a green VW Polo driving behind him, he thought that the driver wanted to pass and the complainant moved over to the side of the road giving a right of way to the Polo but the driver of the Polo followed him.
The victim said he tried to drive faster but his efforts to outdrive the Polo failed as he was blocked by the suspects.
Two males alighted from the Polo, got into his vehicle, instructed him to drive in a given direction.
The victim indicated that the suspects stopped at an old building at KaMgewane, tied him up with a rope and he noticed that there was another person who was also suffering the same plight.
The suspects searched him, took his bank cards and personal belongings and then left.
When the dust settled, the first victim managed to untie himself and the the other victim. They both escaped and went to look for help.
The victims landed at Vosman Police Station where they separately opened cases of hijacking and robbery at which the police immediately commenced with their investigations.
It emerged through investigation that the VW Golf was spotted somewhere in the Clewer area where it was left abandoned next to the road.
Judging on the prevalence of these patterns, the Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma saw it necessary to warn the community to be extra vigilant when driving and not to stop at any unsafe places.
“I urge members of the public to take extra precautionary measures and be vigilant especially when driving their vehicles to avoid stopping willy-nilly at awkward places. Drivers should take break intervals at places where it is safe to do so, such as fuel stations and busy places like at the shopping malls/complexes where it can be much safer to attend to phone calls and other issues as you might not know who may be following you. Criminals like to operate in secluded areas where it is easy for them to pounce on their prey, therefore motorists should not expose themselves to the claws of criminals but be vigilant at all times,” said General Zuma.
Anyone who may have information that may lead to the arrest of the villains, is urged to contact Colonel One Thobejane at 0823722195 for the Vosman cases.
For the hijacking case at Kabokweni, Captain Shaka Nkosi can be contacted on 071 200 1669. Members of the public can also call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or by giving a tip-off on the MYSAPSAPP that can be downloaded to any smartphone.
Bethal: On Thursday 2020-06-25 at about 14h30, police at Bethal received a complaint regarding a state vehicle involved in an accident on the N17.
The overturned SAPS bakkie
The police reacted swiftly to the complaint and upon arrival on the accident scene, they found the SAPS bakkie overturned with detainees which were transported from Kriel Magistrates court to Bethal Correctional Centre next to Total garage.
According to the information available at police disposal, the driver of the police bakkie lost control of the vehicle while avoiding a head-on collision with another vehicle coming from a different direction.
All role players including Mpumalanga Provincial Traffic, Govan Mbeki Local Traffic, Govan Mbeki Fire and Rescue and Bethal SAPS Detective Unit were summoned to the scene.
During the accident, one detainee sustained serious head injuries and six sustained slight injuries. Two police officers also sustained slight injuries.
The Mpumalanga Emergency Service from Bethal attended the scene and rendered medical assistance to injured detainees and transported them to Bethal hospital.
The police in Mpumalanga are warning the public to avoid falling prey to various social media scams as there is an upsurge of criminality involving social media platforms.
During this period, a number of people experienced difficult economic challenges in their lives and this situation presented a window of opportunity for criminals to look for available measures with a view to scam unsuspecting individuals of their hard earned cash.
Criminals would take any available opportunity and use social media to their advantage to lure victims and swindle their cash.
The police have been warning people to be vigilant about these social media criminals who pose themselves as potential employers or salespersons selling under false pretences on social media.
This comes after victims of social media came forward to report incidents in which charlatans conned them.
Reports suggested that victims would be encouraged to deposit cash into these bogus employers or fake sales representatives accounts.
To mention a few examples, on 23 June 2020, a 60-year-old pensioner narrated on how he was lured into parting with his cash to the tune of about nineteen thousand and two hundred Rand (R19200-00) after following a man that he met on Facebook claiming to be from a certain poultry farm.
The suspect was using social media platforms to advertise a herd of cattle as well as a number of sheep.
The complainant developed a keen interest in purchasing six cows as well as two sheep from the man, unbeknownst to him that he was being lured into a trap.
The scammer falsely advised the victim to transfer an upfront deposit of nineteen thousand and two hundred Rand, whilst the remainder was to be settled on delivery of the stock.
The victim faithfully honoured the agreement and duly transferred the amount agreed upon in two separate transactions, one on 1 June 2020, whilst the second transaction was made on 3 June 2020.
The victim called the suspect to confirm receipt of the deposit, to which the suspect agreed.
The suspect further informed the victim that he was getting the stock ready for delivery on the following business day, which turned out to be false.
Numerous attempts by the victim to locate the suspect did not yield positive results and that is when he realised that he has been scammed.
After exhausting all his endeavours to hold the suspect accountable for his deed, the complainant resorted to opening a case with the police at Elukwatini SAPS.
In a separate incident, another victim responded to a promise of a job offer from a State Owned Entity which was advertised by a bogus representative, was tricked to deposit an amount of four thousand six hundred Rand (R 4600).
Apparently, the 28-year-old victim responded to the bogus job advertisement on the suspect’s Facebook page and paid the requested amount on 5 May 2020.
When the victim tried to get hold of the job advertiser in order to confirm receipt of the money deposited, the man requested the victim to deposit a further three thousand Rand (R3000-00) for administration purposes and that was when it dawned on the complainant.
The complainant tried to call the suspect on the following day, 6 May 2020, but his phone rang unanswered and the complainant decided to open a case of fraud on 23 June 2020, also at Elukwatini.
Police would like to warn members of the community to desist from paying money to dubious people who promise them lucrative favours in a form of employment or business deals because there are no jobs for sale.
Legitimate job opportunities do not require an upfront payment for administration purposes or any other means.
The police take this opportunity to categorically condemn the tendencies of these criminals as it is evil and often rob victims of their last cent.
Lieutenant General Zuma has weighed in the warning and advised the public to be very vigilant of various scams that aim at robbing them of their cash and property.
Lieutenant General Zuma
The General has further urged the community to refrain from making agreements through social media and pledge to make cash transactions into accounts of strangers.
“Criminals are taking an advantage of the vulnerability of our people and often use media platforms to ignite some kind of excitement that would be characterised by empty promises. Being excited about the good things that comes with technology, people should not forget of the agonising outcomes that they might experience when they decide to take risks with their cash. This can end up in sobbing stories for the victims so people should always be vigilant,” said General Zuma.
