Centurion – A desperate search for three missing police constables has ended in tragedy, with their bodies discovered in the Hennops River in Centurion, Tshwane, alongside the remains of two other individuals. The mystery surrounding their disappearance deepens as the white VW Polo they were travelling in remains missing, leaving investigators scrambling to piece together the events leading to their deaths.
National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola confirmed the devastating news to the families of the deceased, bringing a painful end to days of uncertainty and anguish. "It has been a difficult six days for members of the police and affected families as we searched everywhere for our three missing police officers," Masemola said.
The discovery was made after a high-level team, tasked with investigating the officers' disappearance, meticulously studied all available evidence. Their investigation led them to the Hennops River, between the Grasmere Toll Plaza on the N1, past the Buccleuch interchange, and onto John Voster Drive. The team, comprised of members from various provinces, had spent sleepless nights combing through Gauteng, Free State, and Limpopo, following every possible lead.
The search operation involved a multi-faceted approach, utilising drones, cybercrime units, the Hawks, counter-intelligence units, the Gauteng Traffic Airwing, and Bidvest Protea Coin Airwing.
The first breakthrough came when pieces of metal, believed to be from the missing VW Polo, were found along the N1 near the river. "We first found pieces of vehicle parts believed to be of a VW polo along the N1… that led us to the banks of the river where we found a Renault Kangoo panel van," Masemola said.
Divers from the SAPS and Tshwane immediately commenced a search of the river, leading to the discovery of two bodies. "Our SAPS and Tshwane divers immediately commenced with the search, where we discovered two bodies, one of the driver of the Renault panel van who it has just came to light that he is one of our employees attached to the Lyttleton Police Station and the second body was that of Constable Senoge. We had to abandon the search as it was already dark," Masemola stated.
The Renault Kangoo panel van was identified as belonging to an admin clerk from the Lyttleton police station who had gone missing on Saturday after visiting friends in the area. According to Masemola, the clerk's wife checked the vehicle's tracker at around 2am on Sunday and saw it was located just 1km from their house. She did not report him missing until Monday, when a passerby alerted the police to a vehicle in the river.
The families of the deceased were flown from Bloemfontein to Gauteng to identify their loved ones at a mortuary in Tshwane, adding to the emotional toll of the tragedy.
Paul Senoge, the father of Boipelo, sent a heartbreaking text message to a Sowetan reporter, confirming his daughter's death: "Hey my sister, my daughter is no more."
Despite the grim discoveries, the VW Polo remains missing, hindering investigators' ability to determine the cause of the tragedy. "For now, we don’t know what has happened. How we ended up here [Hennops] … we were checking all the cameras all the way. The last camera from which we saw the vehicle is a camera at the Brakfontein interchange driving north on the N1," Masemola explained. "For now, it might look like an accident, [but] we won’t know until we find the car, then we can make conclusions as to what had happened."
The police are pinning their hopes on finding the vehicle to unlock the mystery surrounding the officers' deaths. "We are still searching for the VW Polo," Masemola confirmed. "Whether it was an accident or not, our investigation will reveal those aspects once we find their vehicle."
At the scene where the bodies were found, a steel barrier was bent, suggesting a heavy impact. The area was cordoned off, causing significant traffic disruptions on the N1, with traffic having to be stopped completely several times to allow the police chopper to land on the road.
Cebekhulu and Buys, who are from Bloemfontein, worked in Limpopo for Operation Vala Umgodi, a unit that fights illegal mining. They were on their way to their work base after visiting their homes. Senoge worked at the Park Road police station charge office in Bloemfontein and was accompanying her boyfriend, Cebekhulu, to Limpopo.
While the investigation is ongoing, Masemola stated that there was no apparent link between the three constables and the other two individuals found in the river. "The body of our groundsman was found far down the river. We don't think his vehicle entered the river here. It may have entered another point because the place where he had gone to visit his friends is more towards the Waterkloof Air Force Base," he said.
Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, the deputy national commissioner for crime detection, highlighted the challenging conditions faced by investigators. "We are told that on that fateful day, it was raining and the river was overflowing, so we are still investigating. We are still searching for the vehicle, and as long as we haven’t found the vehicle, it is very difficult to relax," Sibiya said.
The police are currently investigating a case of culpable homicide until new information emerges. As the search for the missing VW Polo continues, the nation mourns the loss of the three dedicated police officers and awaits answers to the many questions surrounding this tragic incident.
