NPA confirms 12 murder-accused SANDF members facing two other counts of murder

The group appeared at the Randburg Magistrates Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, over the murder of Hawks investigator Frans Mathipa.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has confirmed that the 12 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members charged with the 2023 murder of a Hawks’ investigator are also facing two other counts of murder.

Frans Mathipa was shot in the head on the N1 near Hammanskraal, while probing claims that some members of the SANDF special forces were behind the abduction of two foreign nationals at the Mall of Africa.

The group appeared before the Randburg Magistrates Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, where new details about the case emerged.

At the time of his murder, Hawks investigator Mathipa had applied for a Section 205 subpoena to get classified documents that could shed some light on the 2022 kidnapping.

According to Open Secrets, on or before the deadline for the SANDF to respond to the application, Mathipa and army officials had agreed to halt the process while they negotiated access to the requested information.

The SANDF maintains that the operatives were at the Mall of Africa on 29 December 2022, for a training exercise and that the abduction of an alleged ISIS associate and his bodyguard was a coincidence.

While it was never confirmed at the time, the NPA’s spokesperson in Gauteng, Phindi Mjonondwane, said the kidnapped men may have also been killed by the special forces.

“I can just give a hint to say that we’ll be relying on the case of Francis Rasuge in proving the other two murder charges, that’s as far as we can go.”

The 12 accused are set to be back in court for a continuation of their bail hearing on Thursday.

The SANDF has consistently denied claims that the special forces unit is rogue, adding that claims of torture, illegal arrests, and murder are untrue.