The meticulous investigations conducted by the Saps Provincial Team of detectives led by Captain Richard Boshomane, led to the arrest of a 26 year old man for killing a Somali businessman, Mahomed Abdullah Hassan last year on 24 June 2018.
The arrest was effected on Thursday 2019-05-02 after a chain of events that commenced the previous year when the deceased allegedly gave the suspect a lift at Kalkspruit in the Mashashane area outside Polokwane.
It is understood the deceased, who was renting a shop in the area, was driving to the City of Polokwane to buy the stock when he noticed the suspect, who allegedly once worked for him, hitch-hiking on the side of the road. Unaware of the suspect’s intentions, the deceased stopped and picked him up. Along the way, at a place called Newlands, the suspect attempted to strangle the deceased and during the struggle, the suspect stabbed him to death.
It is alleged the suspect thereafter took the money, drove the deceased’s vehicle into the N11 road from Mokopane, removed the body, doused it with inflammable substance next to Mapela village in the Mahwelereng Cluster and burned it.
Members of this investigation team, received an information about a suspicious vehicle similar to the one belonging to the deceased at Extension 44 in Polokwane and reacted accordingly. The vehicle was recovered on 24 April 2019 and was positively identified. The driver was then arrested and it later came to light that he bought the vehicle from someone else. After a thorough follow up, the suspect was then arrested and successfully linked to the gruesome incident.
The deceased was first reported missing on 24 June 2018; the day on which he was robbed and murdered.
The suspect, Humphrey Mothata aged 26, today 2019-05-16 appeared for the second time in Polokwane magistrate court on charges of Murder and Robbery. The case has been postponed to the 27th May 2019 for formal bail application and for further police investigations.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Major General Jan Scheepers has commended the members involved in this investigation, for their sterling performance.
