POLOKWANE – Mabu Paul Mailula (44) has been implicated by police in the suspected contract killings of two businessmen in Polokwane and Seshego respectively, over the course of the last nine months.
Mailula is the primary suspect in the murder of funeral parlour executive Jackie Ramogale (40) and taxi boss Pilane ‘Pizza’ Meela (37).
According to a police statement, Mailula is said to have gunned down Ramogale in Thornhill in January one evening. Ramogale was attacked shortly after leaving the gym, just as he was approaching his vehicle.
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Another police statement, dated last Friday, stated that Mailula is also implicated in the murder of Meela.
On October 12 at around 21:00, Meela was shot outside his home in Zone 3, Seshego.
The attackers arrived in a minibus without a registration plate and fired several shots, critically injuring Meela’s friend, who survived after being treated in hospital.
Mailula was first arrested earlier this month, for Ramogale’s murder.
His arrest led to the capture of Alpheus Tsitsa Mathekga (33) and Thabiso Lax Malebana (41) last Tuesday in connection with Meela’s murder.
All three men are being held in police custody and will appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court tomorrow for formal bail application.
They face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and ammunition.
One of the recently arrested suspects was already incarcerated for a separate murder, according to the police.
The murders of Ramogale and Meela have left the communities of Polokwane and Seshego in shock. Their deaths, occurring months apart, have sparked widespread concern, with their funerals being well-attended and their lives celebrated on social media.
Following his arrest, Mailula confessed in an affidavit that he had been hired to carry out a series of killings and had been given a list of targets.
The vehicle used in the commission of these crimes was seized during the arrests of Mathekga and Malebana.
Police confirmed that investigations into these cases are ongoing.
