SAPS constable arrested for stealing Transnet railway tracks

A South African police officer at the Sabie Police Station in Mpumalanga has been arrested for stealing railway train tracks belonging to Transnet.

“The 32-year-old police constable, Dumisani Khumalo, was apprehended with three other suspects by the Phoenix Security personnel.

“The three suspects have been identified as Bongani Shabangu (43), James Mathebula (42), and Masonwabi Mabokwe Thabang Zandonkwani (38),” said Captain Dineo Sekgotodi.

According to police, the men were caught red-handed near Graskop, loading destroyed and dismantled railway tracks onto the back of a truck.

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The men were charged with theft, possession of suspected stolen property and damage to essential infrastructure.

“A case was opened and handed over to the Nelspruit-based Hawks for further handling and the exhibits were confiscated for further investigation,” added Captain Dineo Sekgotodi.

The suspects appeared in the Graskop Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 9 February 2023. Their case was postponed to 16 February 2023, for a formal bail application as they remain in custody.

Two policemen arrested for extortion

In a separate incident, two other police officers were arrested in Limpopo after it was alleged that they had tried to solicit money from a suspect in exchange for cancelling the docket against him.

The police officers had demanded an amount of R15 000 from the man who’s name was listed in the docket.

The man had allegedly paid R10 000, but the officers refused to make the docket disappear and insisted he pay the balance. It was then that the man decided to report the police officers to the provincial anti-corruption unit.

The police members were immediately arrested and charged.

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Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Nico Gerber, issued a warning to government employees, saying that there was no one above the law.

“Everyone who commits a crime will face the might of the law,” he said.