Johannesburg - On the day Joburg cluster commander Major-General Tirhani Maswanganyi’s alleged killers were to appear in the city’s high court for his murder, his wife died in a car crash in the early hours of Monday.
Police spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale confirmed that Shareen Maswanganyi had been travelling with her sister and two daughters on the R101, north of in Pretoria, when the accident happened.
“All we know so far is that she was travelling in her car when she lost control of the vehicle and hit a nearby tree. The three passengers were taken to a hospital and are in a serious but stable condition.
Shareen was the only person to have died in the accident.
Police could not confirm where the family had been headed to at the time of the accident.
Previously, three of the six men accused of Maswanganyi’s murder, Oupa Hlalele, 38, Nditsheni Nefolovhodwa, 39, and Roger Moseki, 40, were acquitted after the State could not link them to the murder.
The remaining men to be prosecuted, Isaac Vele, 31, Tshepo Mosai, 31, and Simon Msibi, 52, were due to stand trial for murder, kidnapping and assault of the top cop, but the matter was postponed again to September 6.
Maswanganyi was found murdered in a field near Hammanskraal with his hands and feet bound on June 17, 2013.
This followed a search launched by a police patrol who found his Isuzu bakkie abandoned next to the R101.
A police uniform and identification card were found in the car.
The couple’s daughter, Didintle, had previously mentioned that delays in the case were placing an emotional strain on the family.
Pretoria News