“Please Don’t Leave”: Minister Mchunu Pleads With SAPS Officers to Stay in Service

• The Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, pleaded with SAPS officers not to leave the police service
• The Minister was speaking at the funeral of Constable Boipelo Senoge today, 8 May 2025, in Bloemfontein
• Constable Senoge is one of the three police officers who died in the line of duty at the Hennops River in Centurion in a car accident

The Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, pleaded with officers employed by the South African Police Service not to leave the police service. Mchunu delivered the eulogy at one of the three police officers who died in the Hennops River in Centurion. The funeral of Constable Boipelo Senoge is currently underway in Bloemfontein.

What did the Minister say?

Mchunu said that it was a very difficult period for all SAPS members. He said that the news of the disappearance was a shock to everyone. Mchunu said this painful situation was worsened by speculations on social media. He said that the proper way of handling the situation was to establish a 24-hour operational centre.

Mchunu said that some speculations are misleading and place blame without evidence. The Minister then made it clear that the officers died by accident and that investigations are being finalised. Mchunu went on to say that when an officer leaves the police for any reason, especially when it's through death, the impact is felt deeply throughout the entire department.

Mchunu said that the department is under pressure, pleading with SAPS members not to leave the service.

"Please don't leave, stay with the service. It is the right thing to do. We understand the challenges and difficulties.

We know that members are facing threats, and as a family, we are always facing the threat of losing officers," Mchunu said.

Watch the video below

South Africans weigh in

South Africans took to social media to express their opinions on the eulogy by the minister.

@Sibalukhul91101 said:

"We heard your powerful eulogy that you delivered at Constable Senoge's' last celebration. Yes the instructors must identify the potential of each every police trainee in the colleges."

@MthabineJustice said:

"He’s come up with no different strategy to deal with crime, police stations are useless. How many people are turned away from his police stations without a case number?"

What you need to know about the police officers

• The three South African Police Service constables who were allegedly kidnapped and hijacked on 23 April 2025 have been found dead.
• The South African Police Service is still on the hunt for the VW Polo that the constables who were found dead travelled in.
• On 29 April 2025, the South African Police Service recovered five bodies from the Hennops River in Tshwane.
• The South African Police Service revealed that the vehicle parts that belonged to the car the deceased constables were driving in have been found.

SAPS retrieved VW Polo from the Hennops River

In a related story, Briefly News reported that the vehicle in which three police officers, Cebekhulu Linda, Keamogetswe Buys, and Boipelo Senoge, were travelling has been found.

The VW Polo was recovered from the Hennops River in Centurion on 1 May 2025, two days after the bodies of the three South African Police Service (SAPS) constables were found. Linda, Buys and Senoge were travelling to Limpopo on 23 April when they disappeared without a trace.

Source: Briefly News