Missing SAPS Officers Found Dead In Hennops River, Police Confirm

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that three of the five bodies recovered from the Hennops River in Centurion are those of missing officers who vanished last week. National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola announced on Tuesday that Constables Cebekhulu Linda (24), Keamogetswe Buys (30), and Boipelo Senoge (20) were among the deceased.

The officers were last seen on April 23 at an Engen garage near the Grasmere toll plaza along the N1. Their disappearance sparked a large-scale search effort that ultimately led investigators to the riverbank, where the grim discovery unfolded.

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Masemola stated that an admin clerk from the Lyttelton police station was also among the deceased, along with another body that has yet to be identified.

“The families were taken to the mortuary where they identified the bodies of their children and loved ones,” Masemola confirmed.

From Car Parts to SAPS Officers’ Bodies

The breakthrough came on Monday when investigators discovered pieces of a VW Polo along the N1, pointing them toward the nearby river. Police divers from SAPS and Tshwane launched a coordinated search operation at the scene.

“We first found pieces of vehicle parts believed to be of a VW Polo along the N1 where we are standing at this moment. That led us to the banks of the river where we found a Renault Kangoo panel van,” Masemola explained.

The team initially recovered two bodies from the water—one identified as Constable Senoge and the other as the Renault driver, later confirmed to be a police employee from Lyttelton. Due to nightfall, the search was paused until morning, when the third body, believed to be that of Constable Linda, was recovered.

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Later in the day, a decomposed fourth body was retrieved, and in the afternoon, the fifth—confirmed to be Constable Buys—was found.

Ongoing Investigation and Search for Missing Vehicle

While the identities of four of the five victims have been confirmed, police are still working to identify the fifth. The VW Polo, believed to be linked to the incident, has yet to be found.

Masemola urged patience as the investigation continues: “We don’t want to speculate at this stage what led to the bodies being in the river, whether it was an accident. Our investigation will reveal those aspects once we find their vehicle.”

He expressed deep sorrow over the loss: “This is not how we expected this case to unfold, we were hoping for a positive outcome. Be that as it may, we are relieved that we could provide the painful closure to the families and the broader SAPS family.”

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