Six days after Karin van Aardt’s brutal murder on Jakkalsvlei Avenue and Jakes Gerwel Drive, police confirmed that a 33-year-old man has been arrested. The breakthrough followed a joint operation led by SAPS and the City of Cape Town.

Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed that the suspect resides in Langa township, close to where the incident occurred. He was brought in for questioning and subsequently charged with murder and aggravated robbery.

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Potelwa said more arrests are expected as the investigation unfolds. The suspect will appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court today, December 11.

DA spokesperson for the Department of Community Safety and Police Oversight, Benidicta van Minnen, said the City of Cape Town has recently added dozens of new law enforcement, traffic and metro officials to the route. An additional 44 officers have been deployed specifically along the high-risk N2 airport route, in rotating shifts, day and night, for constant coverage during the festive season.

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Van Aardt and her husband had flown from Mbombela to Cape Town and were on their way to Vredenburg for their grandchild’s eighth birthday when a group of men attacked them in a smash-and-grab during which she was fatally stabbed. A memorial service will be held at NG Moedergemeente Nelspruit at 11:00 on December 18.

When Lowvelder’s print edition went to press on Wednesday, there had been no arrests. This is a developing story.