WHITE RIVER – Four Mozambican nationals, who have been posing as hawkers by day but are actually thugs by night, have been arrested in connection with 30 serious crimes.
The list of criminal charges faced by suspects Messrs Lewis Mathe (35), Osvaldo Manyike (33), Thomas Mashaba (26) and Petro Chambale (36) include the alleged gruesome murder of a resident of Bundu Estate in January; a spate of house break-ins and armed robberies.
“One of them has already been linked through fingerprints by the local criminal record centre,” stated Brig Selvy Mohlala, provincial spokesperson.
Information received from the police states that the arrest of the suspects was made on Friday and three of them Mathe, Manyike and Mashaba also made confessions of the murder of 60-year-old Mr Clive Anthony Bowers who was shot dead at his house on January 16 around 23:30.
A pointing out at the scenes was also done over the weekend. Mohlala said police can attest to these allegations because the suspects have preliminary disclosed to them that they were the ones responsible for the death of Mr Bowers.
He added that the suspects told the police that they firstly sprayed Mr Clive with a pepper spray, and thereafter shot him dead and fled the scene with a television set and cellphones belonging to the Bowers and his wife.
“Immediately after the incident took place, the police and private security guards joined hands in searching for the assailants with no success, however, they managed to recover the television set together with a firearm which the suspects have already confessed to have used it in the murder of Mr Bowers,” said Mohlala.
Another related incident was the attack of a family of five members at Botanical Garden in Nelspruit last year. According to information, the family was casually walking when they were suddenly attacked by a group of men armed with bush knives and robbed them of their personal belongings.All four suspects appeared in White River Magistrate Court on Monday and their case was postponed for their bail application to February 23 in the same court.
The newly appointed provincial commissioner Lt Gen Mark Dumisa Magadlela said police will not be fooled to think that the four are the only suspects responsible for all of criminal activities around Mbombela.
“These acts sent a sense of fear to the community as there were other similar cases reported, now that we have arrested these suspects with a habit of causing pain and suffering to others, we believe that the community will breathe a sigh of relief.
“However, we will not be fooled and think the suspects were responsible for all crime categories in the Nelspruit Cluster, we still have other criminal elements within the community. I make a humble call to the community to continue working with the police in their quest to root out crime,” said Magadlela.
