Fort Hare bodyguard's murder: 2 arrested, third suspect on the run
Police have arrested two alleged hitmen in connection with the murder of Mboneli Vesele, who was the bodyguard of Fort Hare vice chancellor and principal, Prof Sakhele Buhlungu.
The Witness reports that the other suspects were handcuffed in Zakariyya Park, south of Johannesburg, earlier in June. This brings the number of suspects arrested in connection with the Fort Hare murder to 12.
Ten others have been arrested since 2023, with some still in police custody.
Vesele was shot and killed inside a vehicle while waiting for the vice chancellor outside the principal's home in Alice, in the Eastern Cape, on January 6, 2023.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe says SAPS put out a call to the public for information linked to the murder.
On November 15, 2024, the SAPS published the alleged hitmen's photographs and a request to the public for assistance in tracking down the three wanted suspects after obtaining a J50 warrant of arrest for Bafana Chiliza, Nkosiyazi 'Dipopoz' Maphumulo and Siphiwo 'Spijojo' Jejane.
'On June 21, the team proceeded to Zakkariya Park in Johannesburg following intelligence and information from members of the public. Two of the three [alleged] hitmen were arrested. The SAPS confirms Bafana Chiliza and Nkosiyazi Maphumulo are in custody and will be charged accordingly,' Mathe says.
She adds that the suspects are expected to appear in the Alice Magistrate's Court today, and police are still searching for the third alleged hitman, Siphiwo Jejane.
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