A seven-year hunt for a man accused of killing a Mpumalanga policeman ended this week when the fugitive finally walked into a police station and surrendered in broad daylight.
For seven years, investigators had pursued the 34-year-old man they believe was involved in the murder of Constable Thabo Mdluli, who was shot dead after stopping a suspicious Toyota Corolla at Vlaklaagte in May 2020.
Time passed. The trail did not die.
Fingerprints recovered from the vehicle allegedly linked the suspect to the crime and a warrant followed. Detectives kept knocking on doors, tracing addresses and tightening the circle until, on Monday, the suspect surrendered at Kwaggafontein police station.
His arrest is one of a remarkable series of breakthroughs coming as police appear to have shifted gears following the murders of nine women in Ekurhuleni.
From alleged serial rapists who had evaded justice for years to wanted murder suspects and even one of the country’s most senior police officers, SAPS is suddenly projecting an institution on the hunt.
READ MORE: Fear grips Kempton Park killing fields
Police cast their net wider
Police themselves have drawn the line back to Ekurhuleni.
Following the murders, SAPS said it had “intensified its efforts” to pursue people threatening women, children and other vulnerable people. Between September 14 and 20, Operation Shanela II netted 17,270 suspects nationally.
Among them were 143 people wanted for murder and 188 alleged rapists. Detectives also traced 1,936 wanted suspects.
But buried among those enormous numbers were two arrests which tell a more disturbing story about crimes that can remain unresolved for years.
In KwaZulu-Natal, investigators arrested a 46-year-old suspected serial rapist allegedly linked to attacks on 16 women dating back to 2014.
Then came another.
A 36-year-old man arrested in Nongoma had allegedly been beyond the reach of police for about 16 years after being arrested for rape in 2010, granted bail and subsequently absconding. DNA has allegedly linked him to the rapes of 14 women in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The numbers expose the uncomfortable flipside of the police success: every old suspect caught today raises questions about how long victims waited yesterday.
READ MORE: Manhunt launched after 11 people killed in Durban’s KwaMakhutha
Dragnet reaches police top brass
And then the dragnet reached inside the police establishment itself.
Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya was arrested on Monday by members of the Madlanga Commission Recommendations Task Team, rather than through an ordinary police investigative channel.
Sibiya appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday facing five charges including rape, trafficking in persons and the alleged sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl.
The charges remain allegations and have not been tested at trial.
But the route taken to his arrest is significant.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the investigation was handled by the special task team because of the sensitivity of investigating such a senior police officer.
Sibiya is accused of grooming a 16-year-old between July and August and of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Sandton hotel in May.
He remains in custody and is expected back in court on September 29 for a possible bail application.
READ MORE: Shadrack Sibiya’s rape arrest sparks claims of political plot and SAPS succession battle
The symbolism is difficult to miss.
At one end of the country, detectives were reaching 12 years backwards to connect alleged sexual crimes through DNA. In Mpumalanga, investigators were refusing to abandon the trail of a policeman’s killer after seven years. In Gauteng, a special team was prepared to put handcuffs on a lieutenant-general.
‘A murder does not expire’
For Hawks Mpumalanga boss Major-General Nico Gerber, the Mdluli breakthrough captured the principle behind that persistence.
“A murder does not expire with time. The investigation continues until those responsible are brought before the courts,” Gerber said.
“The arrest of this suspect demonstrates the determination of our investigators to pursue every available lead, no matter how long it takes.”
That may now become the test of the present police offensive.
The nine murdered women of Ekurhuleni have forced renewed scrutiny on how police pursue violent offenders. The arrests pouring through the system show what determined tracing, DNA, intelligence and specialised teams can achieve.
But they leave an equally powerful question behind.
How many more unresolved cases are still waiting for somebody to start knocking on doors again?
- A seven-year hunt for a man accused of killing a Mpumalanga policeman ended this week when the fugitive finally walked into a police station and surrendered in broad daylight.
- For seven years, investigators had pursued the 34-year-old man they believe was involved in the murder of Constable Thabo Mdluli, who was shot dead after stopping a suspicious Toyota Corolla at Vlaklaagte in May 2020.
- Time passed.
- The trail did not die.
- Fingerprints recovered from the vehicle allegedly linked the suspect to the crime and a warrant followed.
A seven-year hunt for a man accused of killing a Mpumalanga policeman ended this week when the fugitive finally walked into a police station and surrendered in broad daylight.
For seven years, investigators had pursued the 34-year-old man they believe was involved in the murder of Constable Thabo Mdluli, who was shot dead after stopping a suspicious Toyota Corolla at Vlaklaagte in May 2020.
Time passed. The trail did not die.
Fingerprints recovered from the vehicle allegedly linked the suspect to the crime and a warrant followed. Detectives kept knocking on doors, tracing addresses and tightening the circle until, on Monday, the suspect surrendered at Kwaggafontein police station.
His arrest is one of a remarkable series of breakthroughs coming as police appear to have shifted gears following the murders of nine women in Ekurhuleni.
From alleged serial rapists who had evaded justice for years to wanted murder suspects and even one of the country's most senior police officers, SAPS is suddenly projecting an institution on the hunt.
READ MORE: Fear grips Kempton Park killing fields
Police themselves have drawn the line back to Ekurhuleni.
Following the murders, SAPS said it had “intensified its efforts” to pursue people threatening women, children and other vulnerable people. Between September 14 and 20, Operation Shanela II netted 17,270 suspects nationally.
Among them were 143 people wanted for murder and 188 alleged rapists. Detectives also traced 1,936 wanted suspects.
But buried among those enormous numbers were two arrests which tell a more disturbing story about crimes that can remain unresolved for years.
In KwaZulu-Natal, investigators arrested a 46-year-old suspected serial rapist allegedly linked to attacks on 16 women dating back to 2014.
Then came another.
A 36-year-old man arrested in Nongoma had allegedly been beyond the reach of police for about 16 years after being arrested for rape in 2010, granted bail and subsequently absconding. DNA has allegedly linked him to the rapes of 14 women in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The numbers expose the uncomfortable flipside of the police success: every old suspect caught today raises questions about how long victims waited yesterday.
READ MORE: Manhunt launched after 11 people killed in Durban’s KwaMakhutha
And then the dragnet reached inside the police establishment itself.
Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya was arrested on Monday by members of the Madlanga Commission Recommendations Task Team, rather than through an ordinary police investigative channel.
Sibiya appeared in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday facing five charges including rape, trafficking in persons and the alleged sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl.
The charges remain allegations and have not been tested at trial.
But the route taken to his arrest is significant.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the investigation was handled by the special task team because of the sensitivity of investigating such a senior police officer.
Sibiya is accused of grooming a 16-year-old between July and August and of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Sandton hotel in May.
He remains in custody and is expected back in court on September 29 for a possible bail application.
READ MORE: Shadrack Sibiya’s rape arrest sparks claims of political plot and SAPS succession battle
The symbolism is difficult to miss.
At one end of the country, detectives were reaching 12 years backwards to connect alleged sexual crimes through DNA. In Mpumalanga, investigators were refusing to abandon the trail of a policeman's killer after seven years. In Gauteng, a special team was prepared to put handcuffs on a lieutenant-general.
For Hawks Mpumalanga boss Major-General Nico Gerber, the Mdluli breakthrough captured the principle behind that persistence.
“A murder does not expire with time. The investigation continues until those responsible are brought before the courts,” Gerber said.
“The arrest of this suspect demonstrates the determination of our investigators to pursue every available lead, no matter how long it takes.”
That may now become the test of the present police offensive.
The nine murdered women of Ekurhuleni have forced renewed scrutiny on how police pursue violent offenders. The arrests pouring through the system show what determined tracing, DNA, intelligence and specialised teams can achieve.
But they leave an equally powerful question behind.
How many more unresolved cases are still waiting for somebody to start knocking on doors again?
