TimesLIVE reports that 12 SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members accused of killing Hawks officer Lt-Col Frans Mathipa are facing three counts of murder.

They are also facing several other charges, including two counts of kidnapping, making false statements under oath, obstructing the administration of justice, theft and fraud. The 12 soldiers appeared in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Monday. The case was postponed to 1 July for a bail application and the soldiers were remanded in custody. On Sunday, the Hawks arrested two soldiers linked to the murder of Mathipa. A vehicle alleged to have been used in the kidnapping of two male foreign nationals at a mall in Midrand on 29 December 2022 was also seized. On Monday, 10 more soldiers were arrested. Mathipa was fatally shot while driving on the N1 highway near Hammanskraal on 6 August 2023. After being shot at, his vehicle veered out of control and landed in a ditch. Mathipa, who was attached to the Hawks’ crimes against the state section within the serious organised crime investigation unit in Gauteng, was on duty conducting an investigation at the time of his death. He had been investigating the abduction of alleged Isis leader Abdella Abadiga from the Mall of Africa and was looking into suspicions that SA military special forces were involved.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at TimesLIVE
• Read too, Twelve SANDF members arrested for killing Hawks’ Frans Mathipa as he closed in on kidnapping, murder, at Daily Maverick
• En ook, Tien meer gee hul oor ná sluipmoord op Valke-ondersoeker, by Maroela Media

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