SAPS Constable Keamogetswe Buys Laid to Rest in Free State

• Senior government officials, including Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae and deputy police minister Cassale Mathale, attended the funeral of Constable Keamogetsewe Buys
• Buys and her two colleagues, constables Cebekhulu Linda and Boipelo Senoge, were found in the Hennops River after they disappeared on 23 April
• Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola conveyed his condolences as the last of the three officers was laid to rest

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

BLOEMFONTEIN, FREE STATE —The Deputy Minister of Police, Cassale Mathale and the Free State Premier, Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, attended the funeral of South African Police Service (SAPS) Constable Keamogetswe Buys in Bloemfontein, Free State, on 10 May 2025. Buys and two of her colleagues, Constables Cebekhulu Linda and Boipelo Senoge, disappeared on 23 April 2025 and were found six days later.

Constable Keamogetswe Buys buried in Bloemfontein

Buys was buried in Bloemfontein after the police gave her an official funeral. The memorial service was held at Grasslands Community Hall, and she was buried at the Thaba Nchu Cemetery. Her two colleagues, Constables Cebekhulu Linda and Boipelo Senoge, were buried earlier this week.

Masemola salutes Keamogetswe Buys

The National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, said Buys served SAPS passionately.

"When we deployed her to Limpopo province to be part of Operation Vala Umgodi, which, which focuses on tackling illicit mining activities, she complied like a well-trained and disciplined police officer and a true servant of the people determined to make a difference in our country, irrespective of far-flung it was and how distant she was from her loved ones," she said.

What happened to the officers?

The three constables were last seen at the Kranskop Toll Plaza. The officers were on the way to their deployment from Bloemfontein to Limpopo. They travelled in a white VW Polo, and the car's tracking system and phones were off.

The police found their bodies in the Hennops River in Tshwane on 29 April, six days after they disappeared. The police also found the car they were travelling in the Hennops River.

What you need to know about the deceased officers

• The police found five bodies in the Hennops River in Tshwane, and one of the bodies belonged to another police officer
• Masemola revealed that the officers could have died in an accident despite the police investigating a kidnapping and hijacking case
• The deputy national commissioner of investigations, General Shadrack Sibiya, said speeding killed the police officers
• Paul Senoge, one of the officers' fathers, opened up about his daughter's death and said he was relieved the car they travelled in was found
• The relatives of Cebekhulu Linda said they wanted answers about how Cebekhulu died and what caused the accident

Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae slams social media users

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Letsoha-Mathae slammed social media users for the theories they shared about what happened to the constables. She spoke during the officers' joint memorial service.

Letsoha-Mathae said social media users have become investigative experts with more experience than trained investigators. She called on South Africans to help heal the wounds of the bereaved.

Source: Briefly News