General Fannie Masemola Suspects That Deceased SAPS Constables Died by Accident

General Fannie Masemola Suspects That Deceased SAPS Constables Died by Accident

  • The South African Police Service's National Commissioner Fannie Masemola said that the three constables who were found dead may have died from an accident
  • Speaking at the scene on 1 May 2025 when the police found the car in Hwnnops River, he said the vehicle may have capsized first before hitting the wall
  • Some South Africans doubted that the car was damaged because of an accident and questioned the validity of the claims

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With nine years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system, crime statistics and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola believed the three constables were killed in an accident
General Fannie Masemola theorised that the three cops died by accident. Images: OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images and @AFRICANDEMOC/ X
Source: UGC

TSHWANE, GAUTENG — The National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, said on 1 May 2025 that the car in which the three South African Police Service constables were travelling when they disappeared on 23 April may have flipped over before landing in the Hennops River.

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Fannie Masemola suspects the accident killed cops

According to TimesLIVE, Masemola spoke hours after the VW Polo that Constables Boipelo Senoge, Keamogetswe Buys and Cebekhulu Linda were last seen in was extracted from the Hennops River. Divers retrieved the car, which was submerged in the river. The police identified it using the chassis and VIN number.

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Masemola said an investigation would be launched to determine the trio's cause of death. However, see said the car looked like it capsized first before impacting with the barrier and plunging into the water. He said that until forensic investigations are finalised, it looks like the officers died by accident.

General Fannie Masemola believes that the three officers died in an accident
Fannie Masemola said the three cops may have been killed in an accident. Image: Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

What you need to know about the 3 constables

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Police divers retrieve constables' VW Polo from Hennops River, Mzansi questions condition of vehicle

What did South Africans say?

Some netizens commenting on TimesLIVE's Facebook post did not believe that the cops died by accident.

Nhlanhla Wimfana Mnisi said:

"If he means the Polo that I saw in the SAPS flat bed tow truck, then it didn't look like it was an accident, but it looked like it was stripped and cut off, unless the doors flew clean off the car."

Hyrene Esterhuizen asked:

"With the water that strong to cause this much damage on a vehicle, how is it possible that the bodies are found in the vicinity of the wreckage? Wouldn't it be further downstream?"

Ciza Tony asked:

"How can a car capsize, hit the wall barrier, and land in the water again?"

Teboho Metsing said:

"It hit the barrier, but for some reason, there was no debris on the road."

A timeline of the SAPS officer's case

Read also

Timeline of the tragic deaths of three SAPS constables in Hennops River

In a related article, Briefly News provided a timeline of the case of the police officers. It covered the case from when the officers went missing to when they were discovered a week later.

The officers were last seen at the Kranskop Toll Plaza on the N1 before their cellphones and vehicle data switched off. They were found on 29 April in the Hennops River in Tshwane.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tebogo Mokwena avatar

Tebogo Mokwena (Current Affairs editor) Tebogo Mokwena joined Briefly News in 2023 and is a Current Affairs writer. He has a Diploma in Journalism from ALISON. He joined Daily Sun, where he worked for 4 years covering politics, crime, entertainment, current affairs, policy, governance and art. He was also a sub-editor and journalist for Capricorn Post before joining Vutivi Business News in 2020, where he covered small business news policy and governance, analysis and profiles. Tebogo passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative Email: tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za