SA magistrate’s body found in car boot in Lesotho; husband arrested

The body of Magistrate Mamello Thamae was discovered in her husband’s car boot after the pair were reported missing from their home in Heilbron, Free State.

Her 40-year-old husband, Lehlohonolo Maketoane, was arrested in neighbouring Lesotho after the vehicle was traced to a guesthouse, in Mokgotlong.

“The Lesotho Mounted Police questioned the husband who showed them the lifeless body of the wife in the boot of the vehicle,” said police spokesperson Captain Lorraine Earle.

He is detained in Lesotho while awaiting extradition to South Africa to face charges of kidnapping and murder.

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Magistrate and husband reported missing

Police in Heilbron launched a manhunt for Thamae and her husband after they were reported missing on Thursday.

According to Earle, their car left their homestead early on Thursday.

“The cellphone and clothes of her husband, Lehlohonolo Maketoane, appeared to be missing. Her clothes and cellphone were still at home.”

They were suspected to have left in a silver Kia Sportage.

Police believed that the vehicle drove through the Ficksburg port of entry into Lesotho,” the police spokesperson said in a statement issued on Friday.

Mpumalanga robber and victim show some teeth

Meanwhile, in Mpumalanga, a victim bit his attacker’s hand and then a blue-light robber bit his victim’s ear to flee from the scene.

Police said that two armed suspects driving a vehicle with fake blue lights, stopped a vehicle along the N4 in Dalmanutha, near Belfast, early on Thursday.

An altercation between the son and one of the suspects occurred, leading to the suspect being disarmed by the son, who managed to seize the pistol and bite the suspect’s hand.

However, in retaliation, the suspect bit the son’s ear and both suspects fled the scene, leaving the firearm behind.

Both victims are Mozambican nationals.

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