Jeppe SAPS launched a manhunt for an awaiting-trial prisoner who was one of a group of 16 prisoners who escaped from Johannesburg prison, known as ‘Sun City’, on April 9.
The spokesperson for the station, Captain Richard Munyai, said the prisoner, Nkosiyazi Phungula, was arrested for the murder of businessman Werner Josef Peherchtold (76) and his friend Johann Botha.
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Peherchtold and Botha, who was a producer and presenter of the TV programme 50/50, were shot and killed at Zebra Inn in Jeppestown in June last year.
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“Before the shooting, they pointed a firearm at Peherchtold and demanded money. Peherchtold told them that there was no money and Botha pleaded with the suspects not to shoot them,” Munyai said.
Munyai said the suspects shot both of them and went into a storeroom.
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“They took two 9mm pistols and an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe and fled the scene. SAPS and paramedics were called to the scene and Peherchtold and Botha were certified dead on the scene. They each sustained two gunshot wounds. A case of murder and business robbery was then opened at Jeppe SAPS for investigations,” he said.
Police stated that during a shoot-out with police earlier today in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, two of the escapees were shot and killed.
Police reported that two men allegedly part of the 16 escapees were shot and killed by police near in KwaZulu-Natal on April 11.
“Phungula has appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court where the case was postponed to April 16 for trial in the Johannesburg High Court,” said Munyai.
Anyone with information about Phungula’s whereabouts can contact the investigating officer, Detective Constable McDonald Thoka, on 082 782 4278 or Lieutenant Colonel Wiseman Siphungu 071 363 3730.
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