Two soldiers arrested for killing top cop on N1

Gun

Johannesburg – Two soldiers have been arrested in connection with the 2023 murder of Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, a senior officer in the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit.

The suspects, aged 36 and 51, were apprehended on Sunday, 22 June 2025, in a joint operation carried out by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation units based in Johannesburg and Pretoria, as well as the Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS).

One arrest took place at OR Tambo International Airport, while the second was made in Centurion, Pretoria.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Singo confirmed that the arrests are directly linked to the fatal shooting of Mathipa on 6 August 2023.

“Lieutenant Colonel Mathipa, who was attached to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State section within the Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Gauteng, was on duty conducting an investigation at the time of his death,” Singo said.

The officer was gunned down while driving on the N1 highway near Hammanskraal.

Following the shooting, his vehicle veered off the road and landed in a ditch.

As part of Sunday’s operation, a vehicle belonging to the 36-year-old suspect was seized. Investigators allege that the car was used in the kidnapping of two foreign nationals at a mall in Midrand on 29 December 2022. The vehicle has since been impounded for forensic analysis.

Both suspects are expected to appear before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court today, where they will face charges of murder and kidnapping.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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