The man suspected of killing seven people in Qunu on 1 February, has been caught by the South African Police Service, Serious and Violent Crimes Unit (SVC) in Bityi.
Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana, police spokesperson, said “after 40 days since the darkest cloud fell over Bityi families during the night of the mass killings at Qunu, the fugitive killer of seven people has finally been caught.”
On the above mentioned date, seven people were shot and killed by unidentified suspects in a small mud flat in Qunu Village.
“Of the seven deceased, four were males while three were females. After visiting the crime scene, the Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene, ordered the multi-disciplinary team of investigators to track down the killers wherever they might have escaped and hidden.
“On 10 March the team of investigators received information which led them to the Gauteng Province and in particular, Orlando East in Soweto. This is where the suspect was believed to be hiding. Subsequently, the integrated team, which included Gauteng Serious and Violent Crimes, arrested the 34-year-old suspect hiding in a girlfriend’s flat in Soweto. The firearm, which is believed to have been used in the commission of the murders, was also recovered during the investigation,” Kinana said.
The suspect’s name is known to the Express, but can only be made public once he has appeared in court. He is expected to appear in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 14 March on seven murder charges.
The Provincial Commissioner and SAPS management have expressed gratitude to the multi-disciplinary team, which involves Crime Intelligence and Tracking Team of investigators, who spent countless nights meticulously analysing every piece of information received to ensure that the culprits are found.
“The criminals involved in these killings should by now learn that with our police officers there is no running away and there is no permanent hiding place. Even those who are under the false impression that when they cross the borders, they will not be found, they must think again. I want to say it again that the Eastern Cape Province has no place for murderers. We shall continue to find them alive, to answer for their deadly actions,” said Mene.
