A suspect has been arrested by the Hawks’ Bellville-based National Priority Violent Crime (NPVC) team, in collaboration with the K9 Unit and the Western Cape Flying Squad, for the murder of a police official on Monday, 20 May.
The Hawks investigated the matter, and on Monday, information was received about the whereabouts of the suspect. Information was ‘immediately operationalized’ and the suspect was arrested. He will make his first appearance at the Athlone Magistrates’ Court on 22 May 2024.
This is according to a recent press statement issued by the SAPS.
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The suspect (32) is alleged to be involved in the murder of Sergeant Sithembiso Mnatwana, who was gunned down in front of his residence at Hintsa Kaphalo Street, Samora Machel flats in Philippi on 8 September 2022, after he arrived home from work.
At about 6:50am, members from the Samora Machel SAPS received information about a police member who was shot on Hintsa Kaphalo Street, Samora Machel flats.
Upon their arrival, they found Mnatwana lying on his stomach with bullet wounds on his head and his upper body.
Mnatwana was attached to the Cape Town Central police station’s Visible Policing Unit, as reported by News24.
Previously, in 2023, a probe by the NPVC team revealed that Mnatwana’s sister-in-law, Babalwa Rulwa-Mnatwana (49), allegedly hired a hitman to kill Mnatwana, with the motive of the killing being a subject of the Hawks investigation.
A warrant of arrest was issued against Rulwa-Mnatwana, and she was subsequently apprehended on 10 February 2023. She appeared in the Athlone Magistrates’ Court on the same day as her arrest, according to a SAPS statement issued on 12 February 2023
According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, the investigation into Rulwa-Mnatwana is still ongoing.
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