Rustenburg – A 33-year-old man accused of shooting dead a teacher at a car dealership in Polokwane, has abandoned his bail application, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday.
NPA spokesperson in the Limpopo division, Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi, said Immanuel Charles Maboko, of Burgersfort appeared in Polokwane Magistrate's Court facing charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
He abandoned bail and the case was postponed to May 6 for investigation.
"It is alleged that the suspect entered a BMW dealership at Nirvana, in Polokwane pretending to buy a car and all of a sudden, he pulled out a firearm and demanded the car keys of a BMW X6 from the sales manager.
"During the altercation, the 56-year-old man Muofhe Luvhimbi, an educator of the Vhembe district who had brought his vehicle for service, was shot dead at the scene."
Maboko thereafter took the car keys and drove off with BMW X6.
"Police were immediately alerted, the suspect was later arrested at Silicon, next to Peter Mokaba Stadium after he was found inside the stationary BMW motor vehicle, and two firearms were also found in the vehicle. One of the firearms is registered in his name and the other is still unknown."
Limpopo police said the 33-year-old was wanted in Tubatse outside Burgersfort for another murder he allegedly committed last week.
"It is alleged that the suspect went to house of the victim at Mabocha village on Friday April 1, 2022 at about 6am, parked his car at the gate and called the victim out. The suspect then fired several shots at the victim, killing him instantly and fled the scene.
"The deceased has been identified as Lucas Malatji aged 35, and was reportedly hired by the suspect for the building work. The motive for the murder will be determined by the ongoing investigations," police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said.
He said the firearms would be subjected to ballistic investigations to determine whether they were used in the commission of other serious crimes.
IOL