SAPS confirms death of three missing constables

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National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, has confirmed that the three missing constables were among the five bodies recovered from the Hennops River in Centurion, Pretoria.

BODIES OF MISSING CONSTABLES FOUND DEAD

Masemola confirmed in a media briefing on Tuesday evening that the bodies of Constable Keamogetswe Buys, Constable Boipelo Senoge and Constable Cebekhulu Linda were among the five recovered from the river.

“We had hoped to find our three police officers safe, unharmed and alive, but this is not the case. It is with deep sorrow that I confirm that our three members have been found, together with two other bodies, one being an admin clerk that is attached to our Lyttleton police station,” said Masemola.

The trio went missing on Wednesday, 3 April 2025, at a petrol station near the toll plaza while travelling from Bloemfontein to Limpopo, where they had been deployed.

They were last seen travelling in a white Volkswagen (VW) Polo sedan with the registration number JCL 401 FS when they were declared missing.

Police investigations began on Saturday, 26 April 2025, with the search intensifying on Monday with the assistance of a high-level multidisciplinary team, including drone pilots, a cybercrime unit, Hawks, a crime and counterintelligence unit, Gauteng Traffic Airwing and Bidvest Protea Coin Airwing.

DISCOVERY OF VEHICLE PARTS

The special team found pieces of vehicle parts believed to be of a VW Polo along the N1, which eventually led them to the river where they discovered a Renault Kangoo panel van.

“We discovered two bodies [on Monday], one of the driver of the Renault panel, who is one of our employees attached to the Lyttleton Police Station and the second body was that of Constable Senoge,” said Masemola.

Due to nightfall, the search had to be suspended as it was getting dark, with a lack of visibility posing a challenge in identifying the bodies.

On Tuesday morning, a third body, believed to be that of Constable Linda, was identified. Additionally, a decomposed body whose identity is unknown was also discovered.

Later on, the body of Constable Buys was identified.

The families of the deceased were escorted to the mortuary, where they identified their loved ones.

Masemola said that while they had hoped to find the constables alive, the recovery of their bodies would bring closure to the families.

“This is not how we expected this case to unfold, we were hoping for a positive outcome. Be that as it may, we are relieved that we could provide the painful closure to the families and the broader SAPS family,” Masemola said.

Police are still searching for the VW Polo.