Twelve South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members appeared before the Randburg magistrate's court on Monday in connection with the murder of a Hawks investigator who was assassinated on August 6 2023.
Lt-Col Frans Mathipa was travelling on the N1 near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, when he was shot. His car lost control and ended in a ditch.
On Sunday, almost two years since the incident, two soldiers were arrested in connection with the murder. Then on Monday morning, 10 more handed themselves over to the Hawks.
Lt-Col Mathipa, who was attached to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State section within the Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Gauteng, was on duty conducting an investigation at the time of his death
— Lt-Col Christopher Singo, Hawks spokesperson
After a brief appearance, the matter was postponed to July 1 for bail application, said Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Christopher Singo. "The identity of the accused cannot be revealed as per court order," he said.
"Lt-Col Mathipa, who was attached to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State section within the Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Gauteng, was on duty conducting an investigation at the time of his death," said Singo.
He said the suspects were also linked to a case of kidnapping of two foreign nationals at a mall in Midrand on December 29 2022.
The Sunday Times previously reported that Mathipa was assassinated days after divulging details of his investigation into the disappearance of suspected Isis (a terrorist group originally inspired by Al-Qaeda) financier Abdella Abadiga from the Mall of Africa in Midrand.
He reportedly had a high-level meeting with a state prosecutor and SANDF personnel two days before he was murdered, where he requested access to classified military documents related to the reasons why special forces soldiers were at the mall when Abadiga disappeared.
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