The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba is elated by the continued sterling efforts manifested by the detectives involved in the investigation of the brutal murder of Thoriso, when the tenth suspect was apprehended.
The 13-year-old suspect was yesterday, 08 March 2019, arrested after he was brought to Polokwane police station by his parents. This after intense investigations were gradually closing the net around this latest suspect. The teenager is a scholar at the local Agricultural School and a resident in the vicinity where the crime was committed.
Soon after Thoriso was murdered on Saturday, 23 February 2019, social media went abuzz with the video of his brutal attack circulating on various platforms and subsequent to this, the police put into action, the 72 hour activation plan. This resulted in the immediate arrest of five teenagers on Monday, 25 February 2019. These arrests were then followed by the arrest of the sixth suspect, also a teenager the following day. One of the teenagers has since been released as the teen could not be linked to the crime committed. Three adults, aged 36 were arrested n Thursday, 28 February 2019 and this was followed by the arrest of another teenager on Friday, 01 March 2019.
General Ledwaba has since dispelled the information circulating on social media, suggesting that the son of the retired police officer who boasted on social media about this brutal incident, has been released from custody. “I want to put it categorically clear that all the arrested suspects will duly be processed through the ongoing court processes and that no one will receive any preferential treatment”, concluded General Ledwaba.
The latest arrested suspect will appear in Polokwane Children’s court on Monday, 11 March 2019 on a charge of murder. Meanwhile, three adults will separately appear in Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 11 March 2019 for formal bail application. The six teenagers will again appear in court on Thursday, 14 March 2019.
