Five people who were arrested in Limpopo on Friday, suspected to be linked to the 19 people who were killed in a shootout with police, made their first appearance in court.
The suspects, aged between 38 and 51, were arrested at a safe house in Thohoyandou.
They made an appearance in the Vuwani Magistrate's Court on Monday and were charged with possession of a suspected stolen vehicle, theft, conspiracy to commit a crime, and fraud.
The five men, one of them a traditional healer, were nabbed during a sting operation on Friday afternoon.
“The suspects are believed to be part of those who were killed in Makhado,” said Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Matimba Maluleke.
A total of 19 people were killed in Makhado on Friday. They were allegedly part of a syndicate responsible for cash-in-transit (CIT) heists in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo.
Police held an observation at the said address after receiving information about a group that was planning a CIT heist in Limpopo.
When police arrived, they began shooting, and the police retaliated.
Seventeen men and two women were killed.
Maluleke said another police team went to the house, where they arrested the five suspects and seized two vehicles, a Volvo and another vehicle with ambulance branding.
The five accused are: Asanda Maqhawu, 33, Charity Phathutshedzo Makhwedzana, 34, Ramabele Justice Peta, 47, Vusimuzi Samuel Ramabekae, 51, and Sillo Shadrack Mposi, 48, who is a traditional healer.
The matter was adjourned to October for further investigation.
IOL News