The man accused of killing Steenberg police officer Sergeant Malose Percival Libelo, 38, is still in custody and will appear in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court again on Thursday April 22.
The case of the 30-year old suspect was remanded for bail application and is being investigated by the Hawks, South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation which targets organised crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crimes.
Sergeant Libelo, a Capricorn resident and investigation officer for Steenberg police station, was shot and killed while he was off-duty on Tuesday April 13.
His body was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Disa Street in front of the Basmillian shop in Capricorn.
Zinzi Hani, spokesperson for the Hawks, said the national priority violent crime team together with the National Intervention Unit acted promptly on information relating to the murder. “Upon their search, they discovered the official firearm belonging to the deceased. Subsequently, the 30-year-old suspect linked through information received was arrested and charged with murder,” said Ms Hani.
Steenberg police station spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed the case is being investigated by the Hawks and said neither him nor station commander Colonel Jan Alexander could divulge any information about the case.
Asked about a separate incident where on-duty officer Donovan Prins who was shot and killed in a pursuit operation in Lavender Hill three years ago, Sergeant Twigg said there has been no updates and the case was being investigated by the Anti-Gang Unit.
Sergeant Prins was shot on Monday June 24, 2019 when he and a partner pursued a suspect who then shot at him. He died later in hospital. No arrests have yet been made in the case and a R100 000 reward was made available last year October for any information that could lead to the arrest of the killer.