Gopane was allegedly hijacked, taken to the Dlomo Dam in Sharpeville where he was allegedly brutally murdered by six young men aged between 15 and 20.
Gopane is said to have been shot, strangled and burned before he was buried in a shallow grave by the culprits at the dam. Gopane’s boss Mbuyiswa Buthelezi of Sharpeville says, “This nightmare began on Friday. A queue marshal alerted me that there were a lot of people standing in the line for taxis at President Hyper. I tried to call Tumi but there was no answer. I called Tracker and they advised me to go to the police station to open up a case as this was the only way they could tell me the whereabouts of the taxi.
Tracker alerted us that the taxi had been standing at Kariba Street in Powerville for about 4 hours before it later moved to Meyerton, Diepkloof and ultimately, Pretoria where it was recovered at a roadblock. The police subsequently arrested the suspects.”
Buthelezi says he had been hoping that Gopane was amongst the six suspects who had been occupying the taxi at the roadblock. “I gave the police Tumi’s description and they alerted me that there was no one who fitted his description amongst the suspects. I am really pained by this incident, we all are.”
On Sunday, police started to search around Dlomo Dam with one of the suspects and Gopane’s body was found burned and buried near the dam. Police spokesperson Captain Attie Loate says, “The six suspects appeared yesterday (Monday) at a court in Pretoria for possession of a hijacked vehicle. They have also been charged with murder and car hijacking by the Sharpeville Police.”
The suspects made their first appearance at the Vereeniging Magistrates Court on Tuesday.Gopane will be laid to rest on Saturday. The funeral starts at 07h00 till 09h00 at St Luke Methodist Church (7571 Khantsi street, Sharpeville). At 9:00 the procession will continue to the Vanderbjlpark Cemetry.
