Case against five held for Mareetsane cop killings postponed

05 August 2021 - 19:52 By khanyisile ngcobo
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The case against five men arrested in connection with the murders of two Mareetsane officers has been postponed. File photo.
The case against five men arrested in connection with the murders of two Mareetsane officers has been postponed. File photo.
Image: 123RF/3D RENDERINGS

The case against five suspects accused of the brutal murders of two North West police officers has been postponed, the Hawks said on Thursday.

The five — Benjamin Jacobs, Jeremiah Mongale, Rapulana Keikantse, Matthews Modukanele and an unnamed minor — made a second appearance in the Itsoseng magistrate's court after their arrest last week in connection with the murders of Const Simon Ntsekeletsa and Sgt Mojalefa Molete, who were based at the Mareetsane police station just south of Mahikeng.

They are also charged with malicious damage to property and possession of a stolen firearm.

The two officers went missing last week Monday while out on patrol in their precinct. Ntsekeletsa and Mojalefa had allegedly run into suspected livestock thieves and were bringing the culprits back to the police station when they lost contact with their commander for an hour.

A day later their charred remains were found in a police vehicle in the bushes in Moseta.

Hawks North West spokesperson Capt Tlangelani Rikhotso confirmed that the five made a brief appearance in court, where the matter was postponed to next week Thursday.

“The matter was postponed to August 12 2021 for the appointment of an attorney and not for a bail application as previously stated,” she told TimesLIVE. 

The Mahikeng stock theft unit last week appealed for help finding the owners of nine goats which were found last week Wednesday in Nottingham by a farmer.

“The goats were tied with ropes and three of them were already dead. Police cannot rule out the possibility of linking the goats with the stock theft incident [involving the slain] Mareetsane police officers,” said North West police spokesperson Col Adele Myburgh at the time.

A joint memorial service will be held for the two officers in Mahikeng on Friday, followed by a joint funeral in Lichtenburg on Saturday.

TimesLIVE


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