Manhunt launched for two more suspects linked to Ditebogo Phalane murder - Cele
Four people have thus far been arrested for the murder of the five-year-old boy, who was shot while his father was being hijacked outside their home in Soshanguve.
Police Minister Bheki Cele with the family of Ditebogo Junior Phalane, a 5-year-old boy shot and killed while his father was being hijacked in Soshanguve. Picture: X/@AthlendaM
JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Police Bheki Cele has confirmed that a manhunt has been launched for two more suspects linked to the killing of five-year-old Ditebogo Phalane.
Phalane was shot while his father was being hijacked outside their home in Soshanguve, almost two weeks ago.
Four people have been arrested so far.
ALSO READ:
- NPA refuses to give details of police probe into Ditebogo Phalane's murder
- 'We keep saying police aren't doing their job but we're not helping them' - Phalane family rep
- ANCYL's Malatji says corrupt officers partly to blame for Soshanguve crime spike
On Wednesday, Cele received a memorandum of demands from hundreds of African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) supporters who led a march against crime in Soshanguve.
The brutal murder of Phalane shone a spotlight on the reality that Soshanguve residents are forced to contend with.
ANCYL president Collen Malatji said the recent spike in shootings highlighted the failure of police to keep the community safe.
“We can’t have a high level of unemployment of young people in South Africa when you have lazy police who sleep on the job.”
But Cele said investigations around the murder of the five-year-old are progressing.
“Those people were six when they came to the house. Four are in the hands of the law. We are chasing some of them. Unfortunately, there is information that one of them might be an undocumented national.”
He said police found evidence implicating two other people in Phalane’s murder.