Hoedspruit — Police in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, have arrested a 36-year-old suspect in connection with malicious damage to property at Sedawa Village, as efforts continue to locate two missing residents.
The suspect is due to appear before the Hoedspruit Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 25 May 2026, facing charges related to the attack.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, 30 April, when community members allegedly attacked the home of a local Induna following rising tensions over the disappearance of a one-year-and-nine-month-old boy, Kahlodi Pako (Mokibelo), who went missing on Friday, 02 April.
Police are also searching for 26-year-old Kgashane Shai, who was last seen on Sunday, 05 April, while talking on the phone in his room. According to his family, Shai is mentally challenged and has not been seen or heard from since.
Community members claim that during a soccer match, Shai indicated he knew who had taken Kahlodi, and he subsequently disappeared the same night.
Earlier searches by police, community members, and Search and Rescue teams, including K9 units, have so far yielded no results.
On 30 April, residents marched to local authorities, police, and traditional leaders, submitting a memorandum demanding intensified efforts to locate the missing persons. That evening, a group allegedly set fire to the complainant’s house, destroying household items—including a fridge, stove, bed, and wardrobe—worth an estimated R60,000.
Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, urged the public to avoid vigilantism and allow police investigations to proceed.
“Community members are urged to refrain from acts of vigilantism and allow the police to conduct proper investigations,” Hadebe said.
Anyone with information to assist in locating the missing individuals is asked to contact Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection, Major General Venetia Masingi, at 082 040 6751, #CrimeStop on 08600 10111, or use the #MySAPSApp.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
