ACCUSED IN COURT FOR ALLEGED ROLE IN POLICE MURDER CASE OF MARCH 2023
GAUTENG: The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation has yielded positive results in a tragic crime incident that occurred on 04 March 2023, where Sergeant, Vusi Enock Vilakazi was shot and killed in Winterveld.
Vilakazi was stationed at Carletonville visible policing (VISPOL) during the time of the incident. Sergeant Vilakazi and three friends were lured to Winterveld in Mabopane via a Facebook advert to buy a VW Polo vehicle. Upon arrival, the suspects shot Vilakazi and took his service pistol before they fled with the friends cell phones. He was taken to Kgabo Clinic in Winterveld, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
On Saturday, 08 February 2025, 25-year-old, Kamogelo George Rathabeng from Mataboge Stand, Mabopane was arrested for possession of the firearm stolen from Sergeant Vilakazi. He was consequently positively identified by eye witnesses. Rathabeng appeared in the Garankuwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 24 February 2025, the case was postponed to 13 March 2025 for a formal bail application.
Meanwhile a separate recent case, an off duty Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) traffic officer Mulalo Dathi was shot and killed at a restaurant, along the street corners of De Villiers and Blanket Street, in the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) on Monday, 24 February 2025. He had been with his girlfriend at the time of the tragic incident.
It was reported that approximately four armed men entered the restaurant and demanded cellphones from customers. Officer Dathi is said to have refused to cooperate, and the suspects fired shots at him. He ran out of the shop but collapsed across the street and was declared dead on the scene by paramedics. The suspects fled the scene without taking his phone. The suspects are currently unknown and remain at large.
We urgently call upon members of the public to provide any information that may lead to the apprehension of the remaining suspects involved in these heinous crimes. If you have any information, please contact your nearest police station or call the crime hotline at 08600 10111.
The Provincial Head of The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in Gauteng Major General Ebrahim Kadwa has stated that together, we can ensure that justice is served and the perpetrators are brought to account for their actions. Your cooperation is invaluable in our efforts to maintain safety and justice in our communities’’, he concluded.
