Leandra police officers appear before court following Hawks investigation
They were summoned to court after investigators linked them to an alleged robbery involving a foreign national.
Four police officers stationed at Leandra Police Station appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court on December 8 following an investigation by the Hawks’ Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit.
The officers – Constable Thabo Mnisi (23), Sergeant Siyabonga Mbonani (32), Sergeant Modishe Mokabane (46), and Constable Sifiso Mazibuko (41) – were charged on November 17 after a lengthy probe that began in January. They were summoned to court after investigators linked them to an alleged robbery involving a foreign national.
According to information, the incident occurred near the N17 toll plaza, where the officers were conducting routine patrol duties.
They reportedly stopped and searched a truck travelling from Piet Retief to Springs in Gauteng. The passenger, a foreign national, had been offered a lift by the truck driver.
During the search, the officers allegedly confiscated a catalytic converter, two cellphones, and R3 500 in cash belonging to the passenger. It is further alleged that both the truck driver and the passenger were forcibly loaded into separate police vehicles.
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The police vehicles reportedly drove together for some distance, before the one carrying the truck driver made a U-turn. The victim claims he was later dropped off in a dark, secluded area.
After walking toward nearby lights, he discovered he was on the Delmas main road leading to Leslie. He managed to hitchhike with another truck, which dropped him at the Leslie Police Station, where he opened a case.
The matter was then transferred to the Hawks for further investigation. Following what authorities described as a “professional and thorough” probe, the four SAPS members were formally linked to the crime and summoned for their first court appearance on December 8.
All four accused briefly appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court, where the case was postponed to February 2, 2026.
Mpumalanga’s Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Major General Nico Gerber, welcomed the progress made.
“No one is above the law. Our members should answer for their unlawful conduct. We will always perform our investigations without fear or favour, and there is no place for corrupt officials in the police,” said Gerber.
