Ten additional suspects have been taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa. The arrests followed their voluntary surrender to Hawks investigators in Johannesburg on Monday. Image: SAPS shared via Facebook.
(The Post News)– In a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, ten additional suspects were taken into custody on Monday, 23 June 2025. The arrests followed the individuals voluntarily handing themselves over to Hawks investigators in Johannesburg.
Lt Col Frans Mathipa was fatally shot while driving along the N1 highway near Hammanskraal in August 2023. After the shooting, his vehicle veered off the road and came to a stop in a nearby ditch.
His death sent shockwaves through the policing community and triggered a months-long investigation that remains ongoing. At the time, he was serving with the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit and was investigating an alleged abduction involving members of the SANDF.
The suspects are further implicated in a kidnapping case involving two male foreign nationals at a mall in Midrand on 29 December 2022, and all ten individuals, including the two arrested yesterday, are scheduled to appear before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court this afternoon, 23 June 2025, where they will face charges of murder and kidnapping.
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