Western Cape officers have launched an investigation into the murder of an off-duty Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officer, whose body was discovered in the early hours of Sunday 12 October in Marikana informal settlement, Philippi East.
Provincial police spokesperson Col André Traut confirmed that at approximately 03:45 the body of a 26-year-old male was found with stab wounds to his chest.
“Preliminary information indicates that the deceased and his 30-year-old female colleague were allegedly hijacked in Brown’s Farm on the evening on Saturday 11 October. The female officer managed to escape the ordeal unharmed and alerted authorities.”
He said the City’s Law Enforcement officers swiftly responded and arrested a 22-year-old suspect believed to be linked to the incident. He said that a second suspect was sought by the officers, also to be charged with murder, hijacking and kidnapping.
“The arrested suspect will appear in court once he has been charged. The motive for the attack is the subject of an ongoing investigation.”
A Marikana community leader who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal described the area as one of the dangerous areas in Philippi as a whole. He said there was a possibility that the deceased was killed somewhere and his body dumped where it was found.
“There are a lot of criminals hiding here. Most of them are from neighbouring areas, but they are hiding here. You’ll find there are shacks here but we don’t know their owners.” The leader said it was unfortunate that the body of the deceased was dumped where it was because it created a bad impression of the area.
He said last month community members discovered another body of a man in the area with gunshot wounds. (“Three people shot and killed in Mfuleni and one in Marikana”, City Vision, 25 September 2025).
The leader commended the officers for their sterling job of apprehending the one suspects citing that they did a great job.
