Ladysmith KZN – Out of the nine suspects arrested on August 21 for the murder of Constable Thandekile Promise Sikhakhane, two recently appeared in the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court.
“We can confirm that two accused appeared in court for murder on August 27. They were remanded into custody and the case was postponed for legal representation,” said Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo.
Captain Mhlongo further revealed that out of the nine suspects arrested by police, eight were taken in for questioning. Constable Sikhakhane was murdered on Tuesday, August 18. The 35-year-old constable was on her way to work when she gave a lift to two females from Ladysmith to Ezakheni.
Upon dropping off the first female, the policewoman’s vehicle was allegedly approached by three suspects who fired several shots, fatally wounding her. The cold-blooded killers made off with her service pistol and she was declared dead at the scene.
On Friday, August 21, the Newcastle Serious Organised Crime Unit, working together with Crime Intelligence and Ladysmith Crime Prevention officers, conducted a joint operation after receiving information about unlicensed firearms in Ezakheni B-Section.
The team swooped on the suspects and a search turned up the Z88 9mm pistol belonging to the late Constable Sikhakhane.
The joint team proceeded to Ladysmith, where another 9mm pistol suspected to be the murder weapon was also recovered.
The firearm will be sent for ballistic testing to determine if it was in fact used in Constable Sikhakhane’s murder and / or any other crimes in the country. The investigation is still underway.
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The question that remains is: What happened to the ninth suspect who was also arrested? Provincial SAPS have not yet provided any answers regarding this suspect who was also held in police custody.
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