National Police Commissioner to brief families, media on Hennops River officers’ deaths
The three missing Constables were travelling in a Volkswagen Polo, which was pulled out of the Hennops River.
Image: SAPS
Nearly 10 months after three police officers went missing and were later found dead in the Hennops River in Centurion, Gauteng, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola will meet the families on Tuesday afternoon before briefing the media on progress in the investigation.
Constables Boipelo Senoge, 20, Keamogetswe Buys, 30, and Cebekhulu Linda, 24, were reported missing in April 2025.
Their bodies were recovered days later in the Hennops River in Centurion, Gauteng.
Police confirmed that the officers drowned after their white Volkswagen Polo was swept into the river during heavy rains.
Three SAPS constables Cebekhulu Linda, Keamogetswe Buys and Boipelo Senoge were travelling in a white Volkswagen Polo from Bloemfontein to their area of deployment in Limpopo when they went missing last year in April.
Image: SAPS
Buys and Linda were attached to Operation Vala Umgodi in Limpopo, a specialised police task force targeting illicit mining activities.
Buys served in the cybercrime division, while Linda was a member of crime intelligence.
Senoge was stationed at Park Road Police Station in Bloemfontein.
At the time of their deaths, Senoge and Linda were in a relationship.
All three officers were buried in May 2025.
Nearly ten months after the incident, police say the families will now be formally briefed on the outcome of the investigation.
SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said Masemola will meet the families at 3pm on Tuesday at the Free State provincial commissioner’s office in Bloemfontein.
He will be accompanied by deputy national commissioners and various experts who worked on the case.
A media briefing will follow at the same venue at 4pm.
In September, IOL News reported that the father of Constable Senoge expressed frustration over the lack of communication from the South African Police Service regarding the investigation.
Paul Senoge said his daughter had been the family’s sole breadwinner and described the months following her death as deeply painful.
“The last time we heard from the police was before the funeral. They told us they were busy with the investigation and would update us, but since then, there’s been nothing,” he said.
“We are really struggling to come to terms with what happened. Just when we think we are healing, the wounds are reopened again and again.”
He added that repeated attempts to obtain updates had yielded no substantive feedback.
“They said they would investigate, but we have heard nothing from them. The only thing we are told when we call the investigator is that they are still busy with the case. It’s so painful,” he said.
At the time, Mathe confirmed the investigation was ongoing and receiving “focused attention”.
She said preliminary post-mortem reports had been received, but final reports - including blood alcohol results, toxicology and histology - were still outstanding.
“These are critical to concluding the investigation,” Mathe said, adding that the analysis of physical evidence was also continuing.
She said the process was complex, as SAPS relied on external specialists for certain examinations, and while the SAPS accident expert report had been finalised, it was not conclusive on its own.
“The outcome of the investigation depends on a combination of all expert findings,” Mathe said.
“Given the nature of the outstanding reports, it’s not possible to provide a timeframe for completion. What can be confirmed is that the matter is progressing, and all necessary expertise is being applied to ensure a thorough and credible outcome.”
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
IOL News