By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia confirmed that a gang member has been taken in for questioning in connection with the multiple murders that took place in Reiger Park, Boksburg on Friday, 07 August 2026.
This comes after a Gauteng multidisciplinary team led by the Hawks have recovered two R5 rifles stolen from the fallen Anti-Gang Unit members at a squatter camp in Germiston.
The officers, Constables Thapelo Tlomatsane, 29, and Sphiwe Sibeko, 28, were shot and killed at around 19:30 when they responded to the fatal shooting of two women in the area.
Cachalia, together with the Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi and the Acting National Commissioner, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, visited the scene on Sunday, 09 August 2026.
Residents accused Cachalia of only visiting the area after a tragedy and then leaving without any viable solutions being put on the table.
The families of the two slain officers, as well as Rolene Lessing, 36, and Jaydin Magerman, 27, are still battling to come to terms with their deaths.
“One person has been taken in for questioning. But he is not the only person of interest. These murders were not committed by one person,” Cachalia said in a media briefing this afternoon.
He said the person of interest is a known gang member who is currently out on bail and facing six other charges.
SAPS’ Crime Intelligence, Tracking Team, Crime Scene Management as well as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation has been mobilised to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Reiger Park community members are urged to work with police to provide any information they have on the incident.
“Communities have a vital role to play in reclaiming their neighbourhoods from gangs, drugs and other forms of criminality. Government recognises that the fight against crime cannot be won by law enforcement alone.”
Lesufi said “at least now we know who we are looking for and a multi-disciplinary team deployed to deal with the killings is fulfilling its mandate”
At the weekend, authorities visited the families of the slain officers. The funerals of the officers will be held on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Meanwhile Western Cape police have increased deployments in Langa, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha following three separate shooting incidents that left 11 people dead.
The shootings took place between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning, with the victims killed in separate incidents in Lingelethu West, KwaLanga and the Barcelona informal settlement.
In Khayelitsha, three men aged 25, 31 and 35 were shot and killed in the TR Section of Lingelethu West at about 10:50pm on Saturday.
Around the same time, at approximately 10:45pm, four men and a woman were killed in a shooting on Winnie Mandela Street in Phase 3, KwaLanga.
A third shooting was reported at about 4:10am on Sunday in the Barcelona informal settlement in Gugulethu. Two men and a woman were killed, while two other people sustained injuries.
No arrests have been made and the motives remain under investigation.
Police have since reinforced deployments in the three affected areas, as well as other locations identified as potential hotspots.
Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Sizakhele Dyantyi and members of the provincial management team are also visiting the affected communities. SAPS said the visits are aimed at strengthening the investigations and overseeing police deployments.