Two suspects have appeared in court for a robbery / murder that happened at the end of last month (January).
Bhekuyise Mazibuko was reported missing on January 31 at Hlobane police station after he failed to arrive at home. His phones were off and his vehicle was missing. Later that day, Mazibuko’s car was found in the Caroline area, Mpumalanga province.
Two men, aged 27 and 28, were taken in for questioning after a vehicle and cell-phones were recovered in their possession. Hlobane SAPS were immediately contacted and it was established that the vehicle belonged to a missing person.
A multi-district task team headed to Mpumalanga to try and connect the dots in the case. Through an intensive investigation, one of the suspects pointed out where he had hidden a firearm with seven rounds of ammunition. Charges of illegal possession of a firearm / ammunition and possession of stolen property were opened at Caroline SAPS. It was then established that the recovered vehicle belonged to Mr Bhekuyise Mazibuko, who had been reported missing.
It is alleged that on the afternoon of January 30, Mazibuko offered a lift to two men who were hitchhiking; they asked to be dropped off near a shop. The two men allegedly robbed the victim of his vehicle and shot him in the chest. The body was found dumped in the bushes in the Leenek area, near the old mine.
The two suspects appeared in the Caroline Magistrate’s Court and the docket was transferred to Vryheid SAPS. Charges of murder, robbery, defeating the ends of justice, possession of stolen property, and possession of an illegal firearm / ammunition are being investigated by Vryheid SAPS. Both suspects were out on parole: one for a case of rape, assault and house robbery; and the other was wanted for a case of rape in the Hlobane area in April 2019. The accused appeared in the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, February 3.
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