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
• Briefly News spoke to Arrive Alive's CEO Advocate Johan Jonck on the possibility that the officers may have been driving negligently

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.

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.

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.

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.

What you need to know about the 3 constables

• The South African Police Service offered a R350,000 reward to the public for information that could assist in the investigation of the officers' disappearance
• The police found the bodies of the three officers in the Hennops River near the N1 in Tshwane on 29 April
• The body count of the bodies found rose to five, and a police clerk was one of those found among the dead
• Moja Love conveyed its condolences to the families of the three officers who were found dead
• The police retrieved the car on 1 May after they found a piece of the car in the Hennops River

Briefly News spoke to Arrive Alive

Arrive Alive CEO Johan Jonck spoke to Briefly News. This was after allegations that the officers may have been speeding surfaced.

"We always use the test of the reasonable man/ person to determine whether there was negligence. Ff the conduct deviates from that of the reasonable person, that will point towards negligence. I do believe it would not be unfair to expect more diligence, self-control and responsible behaviour from our law enforcement who is supposed to "know more and behave better," he said.

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

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.

Source: Briefly News