5 nabbed over murder

Five suspected murderers of two Mogalakwena local municipality ANC councillors have been arrested, Limpopo police said yesterday.

The councillors, Valtyne Kekana, 54, and Ralph Kanyane, 32, were shot by gunmen while they were having lunch in Mokopane town on 23 July, 2019.

The councillors, who were attacked while in their car, succumbed to their injuries and died on the scene.

Their assailants, according to police, fled the scene on foot.

At the time of their death, the councillors were allegedly leading a group of aggrieved councillors and members of the public in Mokopane, Limpopo, who accused senior ANC municipal officials and councillors of working in cahoots with service providers to defraud the municipality of billions of rands in tender irregularities.

This was soon discovered after the National Treasury, the Special Investigating Unit and the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) launched investigations into how the council accrued wasteful expenditure of more than R1 billion.

The report of the investigations by Scopa was complete and waiting to be made public at the time of the shooting incident.

Last year, the Hawks arrested more than 10 municipal officials and company directors for alleged R15 million tender fraud.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo yesterday revealed that five suspects were arrested this week in Mokopane.

The suspects, according to Mojapelo, were arrested in the early hours of Tuesday. They were arrested in different locations of Sekgakgapheng, Moshate, Tshamahansi and Mokopane town.

Mojapelo said the suspects are aged between 40 and 51 and will appear in the Mokopane Magistrate’s Court soon.

He added the suspects will face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder and unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition.

Their assailants fled the scene on foot