Dramatic Arrests In Jacques Freitag Murder Case

In a dramatic development in the shocking murder case of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag, police have arrested disgraced former lawyer Rudolph “Rudie” Lubbe and Shantellè Oosthuizen.

The couple was apprehended between Nelspruit (now Mbombela) and Sabie on Tuesday, 16 July. Lubbe and his long-time lover had been on the run for more than a week, with the police in Hercules, Pretoria, obtaining warrants for their arrest on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Well-known private investigator Mike Bolhuis, whose Specialized Security Services (SSS) task team has been working closely with the police, confirmed Lubbe’s arrest earlier today. “He did not hand himself over to the police but was arrested at about 10am,” Bolhuis revealed.

“He will be transported to the Hercules Police Station where the murder case of Freitag is under investigation.”

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Magonseni Nkosi stated that a man and a woman were arrested in connection with the high jumper’s murder. They are currently in police custody in Sabie.

Lubbe’s lawyer, Shawn Hefferman, informed The Citizen that Lubbe and Oosthuizen are being held at the Sabie police station. “We do not know what the official charges are yet, but we will be applying for bail,” he said.

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In 2006, Lubbe was struck off the roll of attorneys after complaints from the Law Society of the Northern Provinces about unprofessional conduct and theft from his trust account. He also made headlines in August 2004 after being arrested for allegedly threatening to kill his then-wife, Magdaline.

Freitag was last seen alive when he left a guesthouse in Booysens, Pretoria West, on foot on 18 June. Lubbe had dropped him there the previous day after fetching him from his mother’s home in Bronkhorstspruit.

Freitag’s decomposing body was found on 1 July with three gunshot wounds and a broken arm in a field near the Zandfontein cemetery. The former top athlete was also stabbed several times. The “job” for which Lubbe allegedly owed Freitag money appears to have been a botched “hit” on Oosthuizen’s fiancé, Louis Harmse.

The case is developing, and Captain Smith confirmed that Harmse has laid charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder against Oosthuizen and Lubbe. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Oosthuizen is encouraged to contact Captain Smith or the authorities listed in the original report.