Suspected killer of Burgersfort police officer swiftly arrested
Members of a task team arrested a suspect in Braamfontein only a few hours after a police officer had been killed in front of a Limpopo tavern.
Just hours after a police officer was gunned down in his car in cold blood, a 30-year-old suspect was apprehended in Braamfontein.
Sergeant Terrence Kutullo Makgatho (38) was killed in Maijane Village in the Lebowakgomo area on Saturday July 15 at about 02:00.
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He was based at the Burgersfort Police Station and was off duty at the time. After hearing the shooting near a local tavern, community members informed the police. Makgatho was found in his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds.
The suspects had fled the scene in a bronze Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI.
A multidisciplinary team located the vehicle in Braamfontein. The driver, suspected to be the alleged killer, and three other suspects in the vehicle were arrested.
The tactical team searched the suspect’s residential address in Rooihuiskraal, Centurion. The Volkswagen, the possible firearm used in the murder, a large sum of money and a cellphone were seized.
“As SAPS management, we are deeply disheartened by the loss of this officer. He still had a lot to offer the Limpopo communities. We will continue to keep the bereaved family in our thoughts and prayers,” said Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, the Limpopo police commissioner.
Cash was found in the suspect’s home in Rooihuiskraal, Centurion.Major General Gopz Govender of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Limpopo led the multidisciplinary team, consisting of the Limpopo Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation’s tracking team, the national SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit, SAPS Gauteng Highway Patrol, Bravlor Risk, Tracker Connect, the Insurance Crime Bureau, BadBoyz Security, GTP Sleu, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department and Trio Tactical.
The suspect was scheduled to appear in the Lebowakgomo Magistrate’s Court earlier this week on charges of murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possible other charges.
