Johannesburg - Police believe they have finally cracked the assassination of forensic auditor Lawrence Moepi, after the second and final suspect was arrested at the weekend.
Moepi, who worked on numerous high-profile commercial crime investigations, was gunned down last October in the parking lot of his Houghton auditing firm, SizweNtsalubaGobodo.
Police said they believed he had been followed by two men in a VW Golf.
After being gunned down, speculation ran rife that the sensitive cases he was handling meant the shooting could have been a hit.
Remember Siporo was arrested six weeks after the shooting and the second suspect, Mpho David “Thirteen” Nkosi, was arrested at the weekend.
National police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Solomon Makgale said Nkosi had been hiding out in a rondavel in West Bank, KwaZulu-Natal.
Makgale said numerous tidbits of information from the public had led investigators to track down the man, who he described as a “career criminal”.
He said Nkosi had been linked to other crimes, including robberies and carjackings, and despite his shoddy accommodation, he had been “living the high life off the proceeds of crime”.
Makgale added that it was unlikely there would be further arrests in Moepi’s case, meaning the lengthy 11-month hunt for Nkosi signalled the end of the police’s case.
National police commissioner General Riah Phiyega praised police efforts that had led to Nkosi’s arrest.
“We commend the good work of the police and the positive role of the community members that continues to be an important cog in our fight against crime,” she said.
Nkosi appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The State requested that he be detained at Germiston police station for an identity parade in the coming week.
He will return to the court for a bail application next week.
Siporo, who has remained in custody since his arrest late last year, will begin his murder trial on November 17 in the South Gauteng High Court in Joburg.
The Star understands that the attack may not have been a hit related to the auditor’s work, but could rather be the result of a love triangle involving Siporo and Moepi.
Moepi was the head of the forensic service unit at SizweNtsalubaGobodo at the time of his death.
The firm’s website said Moepi had worked with the police’s Commercial Crime Unit and the Scorpions before the elite police unit was shut down.
It was also reported that he had been appointed to work on the investigation into the arms deal inquiry.
He was also allegedly handling investigations for the office of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. Her office confirmed that he had been working as an external auditor for her office, finalising at least one case and working on several others.
The Star