Cape Town - Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder and robbery of Warrant Officer Petrus Holz on the N2 on Wednesday.
The men, who were arrested in Macassar on Wednesday, have not been named.
They are expected to appear in the Somerset West Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
On Thursday night, police spokesperson Tembinkosi Kinana said the Hawks had taken over the investigation.
The Hawks said the brutal murder prompted their acting head Major General Mthandazo Ntlemeza to assemble a task team, and he has commended them for the swift response.
“The arrests are an assurance that we are committed to solving this case. I would like to thank the team and Macassar detectives for bringing closure to the Holz family and his colleagues. We believe we have a strong case against the accused and we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring such brutality does not happen again,” Ntlemeza said.
Some of Holz’s possessions were recovered from the men.
Holz was stabbed to death by two people while on his way to his office on Wednesday morning. He was travelling on the infamous stretch of road between Somerset West and Khayelitsha and was not in uniform. The 50-year-old father of two had driven over objects placed in the road and punctured a tyre, a tactic used by criminals to force motorists to stop.
Acting provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile announced the arrests during a media briefing at Khayelitsha police station on Thursday.
He said since the trend of N2 attacks started, there had been consistent investigations and arrests. Patekile said the police had a strong case against the pair arrested in connection with the Holz incident.
“The investigation is an ongoing thing. We have got a lot of vehicles in that area,” Patekile said.
He said the two arrests would not have not been possible without the community’s assistance. “We need to come up with different thinking. We have a strong case that could also be linked to other cases
.”
Police are looking into the possibility of linking the two men with other cases reported.
Patekile said they were not certain that the two men arrested in connection with Holz’s murder were part of the groups continuing to attack motorists on the highway, “but the possibility is there…”
“We once again want to thank the community along that route. The community came forward and we were able to arrest and recover some items,” he said.
Holz’s son Burger, 22, said a police official had informed his family that suspects had been arrested. He said it was of little comfort to his grieving family.
“The wounds are still very fresh. A policeman told us that people had been arrested, and we are happy about that. But my dad is not coming back. Although it is tough, I’m trying to be strong for my mother and sister,” Burger said.
The Police Portfolio Committee has reiterated its call to police to intensify patrols along the province’s highways.
Committee chairperson Francois Beukman said: “SAPS needs to be vigilant in rooting out these criminal elements on our roads.”
The committee also sent heartfelt condolences to Holz’s family and the family of a 36-year-old officer who was killed during a shoot-out with robbers in Vosloorus, Gauteng, on Wednesday. And on Thursday, a 35-year-old officer died after being wounded during a robbery in Themba township. Another died during a shoot-out following a robbery at the Junction Mall, south of Johannesburg, on Monday.
Deputy Police Minister Maggie Sotyu will be visiting the Holz family on Friday.
Cape Times