12 SANDF members set to be tried for 2023 murder of Hawks official

JOHANNESBURG - Twelve national defence force members are set to be tried for the brazen assassination of a Hawk's official almost two years after the murder.

Frans Matipa was shot in August 2023 while driving on the N1 highway near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria.

Two soldiers were arrested for the crime on Sunday and 10 others handed themselves in on Monday before the group made a brief court appearance in Randburg.

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The State believes the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Frans Matipa was linked to some of the high-profile cases he was investigating.

This as Matipa was attached to the crimes against the state unit in the Hawks.

According to the Hawks, at the time of his assassination, Matipa was investigating the abduction of two foreign nationals from the Mall of Africa in Midrand in December 2022.

Hawks spokesperson Christopher Singo said: "The suspects are linked to the kidnapping of two male foreign nationals that took place on 29 December 2022 at a mall in Midrand."

While all the soldiers remain behind bars, they plan on bringing a formal application for bail next week.