Police Minister Senzo Mchunu clarified that they were not saying the orders for the murders came from prison but they were following all information. Picture: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers
While a breakthrough has been made in the Lusikisiki murders, one known person is still on the run and more suspects, including within a prison, could be linked to the case.
A total of five suspects have been apprehended to date with four expected to make their first appearance at the Lusikisiki Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
These details emerged at a media briefing in Parliament on Thursday where the police ministry provided an update on investigations in the Eastern Cape.
“Three suspects were arrested in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal and one in East London. There is one that is still on the run but we were able to retrieve or confiscate his vehicle.
“The investigation, we have cast it wide and we are still looking at the possibility of linking other people to this specific case,” said National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola.
The commissioner stated that no firearms have been retrieved yet, but the recovered car was placed at the scene where 18 people died after an attack on two neighbouring homesteads in Ngobozana Village, Lusikisiki on September 28.
Five were also wounded on the fateful day.
Masemola stated that they were aware that the arrested suspects will face murder charges and that more charges might be added.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu clarified that they were not saying the orders for the murders came from prison but they were following all information.
“Sometimes we get information, but there is always a need to translate that into concrete evidence. I am saying that it’s important that we note this and there is something we are doing about it,” said Mchunu.
Mchunu added he has met with Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald about the matter of parolees as the system needs to be reviewed.
The first suspect to be arrested in the case was 45-year-old Siphosoxolo Myekethe, a repeat offender who was released last year.
It emerged on Thursday that Myekethe was convicted of the murder of a police officer.
Cape Times