National police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola said it looks like the VW Polo capsized first, before it impacted on the road barrier on the N1, and the car eventually went into the water.
Image: FILE/SAPS
The SA Police Service (SAPS) says "nothing sinister" has been detected so far around the death of three constables whose bodies were retrieved from the Hennops River in Centurion, Tshwane.
The police officers were last seen at a petrol station near the Grasmere Toll Plaza early Thursday morning, April 24, 2025.
They were travelling to Limpopo, from Free State, in a white Volkswagen Polo hatchback when they went missing last week.
Following their disappearance, authorities launched a large-scale search operation involving police divers, drone units, and rescue teams.
For several days, investigators scoured the N1 highway, surrounding waterways, and the Hennops River to locate the vehicle and those onboard.
The bodies of the officers - 30-year-old Keamogetswe Buys, 20-year-old Boipelo Senoge, and 24-year-old Cebekhulu Linda - were retrieved from the river after they were reported missing for over five days.
Speaking to journalists following the recovery of the VW Polo from the river, national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola said there is no suspicion of foul play in the death of the three police constables.
“We are going to undertake an investigation of the car so that we come to a conclusion as to what exactly happened, but from the look of eyes, when you see … the car looks like it capsized first before it impacted on the wall, in the barrier on the side, and then it eventually went into the water,” said Masemola.
The bodies of Constables, Keamogetswe Buys, 30, Boipelo Senoge, 24, and Cebekhulu Linda, 24 were found at the Hennops river in Centurion.
Image: SAPS
Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide, following the death of the three youthful constables.
“At this stage, it looks like an accident, until we finalise and the forensics have done their thorough investigation on the car. Let the public be assured that this is what we have for now,” Masemola told reporters.
“For now there is nothing sinister that we physically have seen in terms of, let’s say, being shot, bullets, nothing. But of course there are injuries. Doctors will tell us exactly when they finalise their autopsies.”
Earlier this week, IOL reported that the body count from Hennops River in Centurion had risen to five, after the body of a female was retrieved.
Addressing journalists at the crime scene, deputy national police commissioner for crime detection, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya said one of the bodies found in the river was of a "white person".
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL