National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has confirmed the deaths of three police constables who went missing last week while en route to their deployment in Limpopo.
The officers Linda Cebekhulu (24), Keamogetswe Buys (30), and Boipelo Senoge (20) disappeared on Thursday after departing from Bloemfontein. A search operation led investigators to the Hennops River near the N1 in Centurion, where their bodies were discovered.
The bodies of two of the officers were recovered on Monday, with the third found on Tuesday. All three were identified by their families.
In a media briefing held in Pretoria on Wednesday, Masemola expressed his condolences:
“We had hoped to find our three police officers safe, unharmed, and alive. But this is sadly not the case,” he said.
“It is with deep sorrow that I confirm the recovery of our three members, along with two other bodies one of whom has been identified as an admin clerk from Lyttleton Police Station who was also reported missing.”
According to Masemola, the vehicle the constables were travelling in believed to be a VW Polo has not yet been recovered. However, vehicle parts suspected to belong to it were found along the N1, leading police to the riverbank where a Renault Kangoo panel van was also discovered.
“On Tuesday morning, we recovered the third body, believed to be that of Constable Cebekhulu,” Masemola said. “We also found a fourth decomposed body whose identity is still unknown. Later in the afternoon, we sadly located the fifth body, that of Constable Buys.”
The cause of death for the five individuals remains under investigation.
“We don’t want to speculate at this stage whether this was a tragic accident or something more sinister,” Masemola stated. “Our investigation will provide clarity, especially once the vehicle is found.”
Police have opened a case of culpable homicide as inquiries continue.