Suspect on the run as police seize vehicle linked to Lusikisiki massacre

Authorities have received information suggesting that the Lusikisiki massacre in Eastern Cape may have been orchestrated from within prison.

On 28 September, a group of armed assailants stormed two neighboring homesteads in Ngobozana village, close to Lusikisiki, and opened fire.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 18 individuals, with five others sustaining injuries.

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The first suspect, Siphosoxolo Myekethe, was apprehended on 7 October in connection with the murders.

Myekethe has already appeared in the Lusikisiki Magistrate’s Court, facing 18 counts of murder and one charge of possessing an unlicensed AK-47 assault rifle.

The 45-year-old has opted to abandon his bail application.

This week, the South African Police Service (Saps) also arrested three additional suspects in Port Shepstone and East London.

More arrests in Lusikisiki massacre expected

Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, flanked by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, confirmed that the three suspects will appeare in court on Friday.

“We also have one of the suspects that is still outstanding, that is on the run, but we were able to retrieve or confiscate his vehicle, so in total, people currently arrested is five. That is how far we are with the investigation,” he said.

Masemola indicated that the police were looking at the possibility of linking other suspects to the Lusikisiki mass shooting.

“We have not yet recovered the firearms; we are on track looking for the firearms together with the one suspect,” the commissioner said.

READ MORE: Lusikisiki murder accused abandons bail while police reveal identities of 4 more suspects

He stated the motive behind the murders was still unknown.

“At this stage, we don’t want to speculate.”

The commissioner assured that the “real motive” would be unveiled in court.

“The vehicle that we confiscated was at the crime scene. That we know for a fact, but there are other ways that will come out in court as how we linked [the suspects] to the crime.”

Watch the briefing below:

Lusikisiki massacre a hit from prison?

Masemola stated that the search for the remaining suspect has been broadened to include prisons due to allegations the shooting was ordered by an inmate.

“We do expect more arrests in the future, we are having one that is on the run that we are looking for.

“We can’t say it will be the last one, as the minister said, we are also looking somewhere in the Correctional Services.

“The ones that we arrested, some of them previously committed crimes,” he added.

Qumbu, police officer murders

Masemola also gave an update on the Qumbu murders, in which six people were killed by a group of assailants in Godini village on 6 October.

The commissioner reported that one suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident.

“We are still looking for about seven or eight suspects. The one person has since appeared in court. That is the progress that we can give,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mchunu addressed the murder of a police officer in Ngqeleni, confirming that one suspect was killed during a gun battle with police on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Mass killings: ‘Survivors lives changed forever’

He noted that authorities discovered the stolen firearm belonging to the deceased officer among the items seized from the scene.

The police are actively pursuing a second suspect.

Mchunu revealed that the officer was not even investigating the suspects at the time of the incident.

“We want to warn people at this stage against attacking the police whether they are at work or not. If you do so, you are attacking the state and there’s never going to be any doubt that there will be consequences for that,” he said on Thursday.

Kidnappings

In addition, Mchunu stated that police have “successfully unraveled” kidnapping crimes, which are often connected to drugs, illegal firearms, and foreign nationals, according to the minister.

“It continues to be a crime that [worries] us. We want to say to the people in our country that they must be alert and know that there are people who are out for this crime.

“Mainly, [suspects] will kidnap [citizens] and demand ransom, but police are equal to the task so far. It’s not something that is a crisis, but it is a concern.”

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