SANDF soldiers in court over murder of Hawks officer Frans Mathipa

Twelve SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members accused of killing Hawks officer Lt-Col Frans Mathipa appeared in a Johannesburg court on Monday facing three counts of murder. 

In addition to murder, the soldiers are also facing charges of kidnapping, making false statements under oath, obstructing the administration of justice, theft and fraud. 

They appeared in the Randburg magistrate’s court. The court ordered the media not to publish their names or pictures as an identity parade must still be conducted. 

The case was postponed to July 1 for a bail application and the soldiers were remanded in custody.

The matter will be transferred to a Gauteng high court.

On Sunday, the Johannesburg-based Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation team arrested two soldiers, aged 36 and 51, allegedly linked to Mathipa’s murder.

Police also seized a vehicle, which was allegedly used in the kidnapping of two male foreign nationals at a mall in Midrand on December 29 2022.

On Monday, 10 more soldiers were arrested after they handed themselves over to the Hawks investigating officers in Johannesburg.

Mathipa was fatally shot while driving on the N1 near Hammanskraal on August 6 2023 when the assassins pulled up next to him and opened fire. At the time he was conducting an investigation as a member of the Hawks unit that investigates crimes against the state within the serious organised crime investigation unit in Gauteng.

The Sunday Times reported he had been investigating the abduction of alleged Islamic State leader Abdella Abadiga from the Mall of Africa in Johannesburg in December 2022 and that the SA military special forces may have been involved.

Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Christopher Singo said the accused were linked to a case involving the kidnapping of two foreign nationals in December 2022. He added that Mathipa was responsible for investigating high-profile cases.

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