Johannesburg - On Monday at about 2pm a senior officer with 30 years’ service in the SAPS left his Hammanskraal home and made his way to Joburg where he worked.
He never arrived.
Early this morning his body was discovered dumped in the veld.
His hands were tied behind his back and his feet were bound.
The exact cause of his death was not known.
The officer, who has been identified as Johannesburg police cluster commander Maj-Gen Tirhani Simon Maswanganyi, was dressed in civilian clothes.
On Tuesday morning police officers combed the area and a helicopter hovered above as the officers searched for clues.
Describing how the gruesome discovery was made, provincial police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said police officers patrolling the area saw Maswanganyi’s bakkie next to the R101 at about 6pm on Monday.
The bakkie’s doors were open, but there was no one inside.
When the officers went up to the vehicle, they discovered a police uniform and a police identification certificate.
The officers immediately went to his wife’s house and she informed them that her husband had left for work, as normal, earlier in the day.
Malila said the officer usually stayed in Joburg during the week because of the distance.
But because it was the weekend he had been at his family home in Hammanskraal. Sunday would have marked the start of his work week.
After speaking to Maswanganyi’s wife, they immediately suspected something was wrong and began a search for him.
“The officers returned to the scene with sniffer dogs and started searching the area. They area is very bushy, has tall grass and there is also a dumping site nearby.
“They only found the body early this morning,” Malila said.
While the cause of death was not known, Malila said it did not look as if the officer had been shot.
“But there was blood where he was found.
“It is also not known whether he had been assaulted or not, but that could be a possibility due to the fact that blood was at the scene,” he said.
A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
Maswanganyi did not carry a service pistol as he was office bound.
Malila said it was not yet known whether he had been robbed of his valuables.
He said the police were investigating, and that further details would be released once more was known.
Gauteng commissioner Lt-Gen Mzwandile Petros told Sapa on Tuesday afternoon: "We will do everything in our power to locate and bring the perpetrators of this crime to book.
"I have assembled a team of detectives under the leadership of the deputy provincial commissioner for detective services, Maj-Gen Tebello Mosikili, and investigators from the provincial investigation unit and organised crime to investigate the murder," said Petros.
The Democratic Alliance sent its condolences to Maswanganyi's family, friends, and colleagues.
"By all accounts he was a dedicated policeman who keenly felt the need to make a difference in the fight against crime," DA MPL Kate Lorimer said in a statement.
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The Star, Sapa