The discovery of high-calibre firearms that are believed to have been used in the mass murder in Lusikisiki has led to two additional arrests.
This pushed the number of suspects who are in police custody to seven.
According to Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the arsenal of high-calibre firearms was discovered through intelligence and careful detective work on Thursday evening.
Preliminary investigations have shown that the firearms were moved following the murder of 18 people in Lusikisiki over a week ago.
“Two more suspects have been arrested after they were found to be in possession of these rifles. The pair was arrested in Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape,” said Mathe.
She further revealed that the firearms have been taken in for ballistics testing to determine and confirm that they were indeed used in the commission of the crime and to also determine which other crime scenes can be linked to them.
Myekethe abondons bail application
The Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, and the national commissioner of police, General Fannie Masemola, have commended the investigating team for the breakthrough.
The first suspect in the case, who is also a parolee, Siphosoxolo Myekethe, appeared before the Lusikisiki magistrate’s court on Tuesday and abandoned his bail application.
When Myekethe returns to court, four other suspects who were apprehended in KwaZulu-Natal this week will accompany him.
Earlier in the week, Masemola expressed gratitude to South Africans from all walks of life for their invaluable assistance in providing information on the whereabouts of the wanted suspects in the Lusikisiki mass killings.
Communities banded together and notified police of the whereabouts of the suspects within 24 hours of the SA Police Service issuing the alert, Masemola said.
“We also wish to thank the South African media fraternity, social media users, and all people who shared the pictures of these suspects, stood united and exposed the whereabouts of these suspects,” he said at the time.
