Latest news with #Senoge
TimesLIVE
08-05-2025
- TimesLIVE
Const Senoge remembered for smile and bubbly character
The parents of Const Boipelo Senoge, one of three police officers who were found dead in the Hennops River, have bid their final farewell, quoting Psalm 91:1 to honour their daughter's memory. 'You were the light in our lives. You brought laughter, your smile brought light. You will always remain in our hearts. Go and fly like an eagle, may the heavenly angels be with you at the feet of the Lord,' said her parents in a letter. On Thursday, Senoge's family, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate her life, remembering her for her light smile and bubbly character. Senoge is one of three constables whose bodies were retrieved from the Hennops River in Centurion last week after they went missing while travelling to Limpopo for their deployment. They were last seen on April 23 at the Engen garage near the Grasmere toll plaza on the N1. Born on May 4 2000, Senoge was the third born to Seleke and Jane Senoge. According to her obituary, she attended Karabelo Primary School until grade 7. Then she continued to grade 12 at Puseletso High School. She then attended Glenn College to focus on agriculture, later opting to study online at Unisa while employed at Bisistro for two years before becoming a member of the SAPS in 2023.
IOL News
08-05-2025
- IOL News
‘Please do not leave SAPS': Minister Senzo Mchunu's appeal at Constable Senoge's funeral
Constable Boipelo Senoge, aged 20, died in a horrific crash alongside her two colleagues last month while travelling to Limpopo. Image: SAPS Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on Thursday paid tribute to 20-year-old Constable Boipelo Senoge who lost her life, alongside two colleagues, following a horrific crash at the Hennops River in Tshwane. IOL reported earlier this week that a joint memorial service was held in Bloemfontein, Free State, in honour of the three SA Police Service (SAPS) constables - Senoge, Cebekhulu Linda, 24, and Keamogetswe Buys. Mchunu; Premier of the Free State, Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae; national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola and provincial commissioner of police in the Free State, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane were some of the delegates at Senoge's funeral in Bloemfontein on Thursday. In his keynote address, Mchunu said SAPS feels the negative impact when any member leaves. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. 'When a police officer leaves the service for any reason, worse when it is through death, the impact is felt deeply throughout the entire department. Because we are always under pressure in terms of personnel, we do want to persuade all of you not to leave. Those of you who are from SAPS, those who are here, and those who are not here. Please do not leave. Stay with the service. It is the right thing to do,' Mchunu told the crowd of mourners. 'We understand the challenges, the difficulties - but it is the right thing to do. We know SAPS members are always facing threats and as the family of SAPS we are always facing the threat of losing officers through natural attrition, resignation, or other unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, we mourn the profound loss of these three constables.' Three SAPS constables Cebekhulu Linda, Keamogetswe Buys and Boipelo Senoge were travelling in a white Volkswagen Polo from Bloemfontein to their area of deployment in Limpopo when they went missing last month. Image: SAPS IOL reported on Tuesday that the official funerals for the three constables will be held on separate dates from Thursday to Saturday. The funeral of Constable Senoge was held on Thursday morning, at St Peter Anglican Church, Rocklands, Mangaung, and burial was set for South Park Cemetery. The funeral service for Constable Linda will happen on Friday morning and he will be laid to rest at Magengenene cemetery in Mangaung. For Constable Buys, the funeral service will be held on Saturday morning and she will be laid to rest at Thaba Nchu cemetery. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Mchunu recounted that it is now just over two weeks since the sad news of the disappearance of the three constables emerged. 'That alone was a shock to everyone who received it - the families, the South African Police Service, and the country at large. But over and above this, there was trauma — the anguish of not knowing what could have happened, when it might have occurred, and how it came to be,' he said. 'This already painful situation was worsened by speculation circulating on various social media platforms. Right from the beginning, we believed that the best way of coming to terms with the situation and handling it properly, with integrity, was to establish a 24-hour Venue Operational Centre, with a multi-disciplinary team comprising the heads of intelligence and detectives from Limpopo, Free State, and Gauteng.' He said during the extensive search for the missing police officers, the broader team included highly skilled and experienced police officers from across the SAPS, including seasoned expert detectives, crime and counter-intelligence operatives, as well as members from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (also known as the Hawks), the cybercrime unit, among other specialised units. 'Once this team was in place, it took five days before we began to make meaningful progress. As the investigation developed, all possible leads were pursued, including the detailed questioning of an individual who had approached the constables' vehicle at a petrol station,' said Mchunu. Authorities recovered bodies of the missing constables from Hennops River Image: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers Using every tool at our disposal, including advanced technology and evidence gathering, our investigation tracked the vehicle's last known path — from the Grasmere Toll Plaza on the N1, past the Buccleuch Interchange, and onto John Vorster Drive in Centurion. This ultimately led us to the Hennops River along the N1, where we conducted a three-day search.' During the search in the river, the teams also found the body of a SAPS groundsmen stationed at the Lyttelton police station, Jan Mzwane. IOL News
News24
03-05-2025
- News24
Official funerals to be held for three officers whose bodies were found in Hennops River
Constables Senoge, Linda and Buys will receive official funerals in their hometowns, with a memorial service in Bloemfontein next week. The officers went missing en route from Bloemfontein to Limpopo, before their vehicle was discovered in the Hennops River. Authorities are conducting a detailed forensic analysis of the vehicle to determine the cause of the accident. The three police officers whose bodies were recovered from the Hennops River this week will be honoured with official funerals. Constable Boipelo Senoge, 24, Constable Cebekhulu Linda, 24, and Constable Keamogetswe Buys, 30, went missing while travelling from Bloemfontein to Limpopo on an assignment. They will be laid to rest in their hometowns of Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu between 8 and 10 May. Police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said the decision to honour the officers was taken after a meeting between the deceased's families, Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, and the provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Baile Motswenyane. He said a memorial service for the late constables would be held at Bloemfontein on Tuesday. "The South African Police Service and the Free State provincial government extend deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the fallen members. Their passing touched the country deep, but their dedication and contribution will never be forgotten," Makhele added. The three officers had been assigned to a Vala Umgodi operation aimed at tackling illegal mining in various hotspots nationally, when they went missing last Wednesday. Netwerk24 reported on Thursday that the vehicle had ploughed through a safety barrier and ended up in the river. After an intensive search covering the length and breadth of Free State, Gauteng and Limpopo, their bodies were discovered in the river on Monday and Tuesday. Authorities also discovered the body of an unidentified man and that of a SAPS employee attached to the Lyttleton police station along the same stretch of water. Police stressed that investigations were ongoing, and that cause of death had not yet been determined. Addressing the media on Thursday at the scene of the discovery, national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola said the car would be analysed to determine what had happened. "We have no rules to stick to when you carry out a forensic investigation. They're going to go through the car, look thoroughly at the car, and the fact that I'm saying it looks like it capsized [overturned] first," he said. "Remember, I'm not an expert, is what I'm seeing. But they will be able to determine, because they are engineers, they are qualified people. They will thoroughly investigate the car, and they will be able to tell us exactly what happened to the car." At the time of their deaths, Senoge was just days away from celebrating her 25th birthday. Her family told News24 she had dreamed of hiring a tent, bringing her loved ones together, and creating cherished memories to mark the occasion. Linda – who was Senoge's boyfriend – had, meanwhile, long been planning to marry his love and was getting ready to pay lobola. Buys, too, had been preparing to marry her long-time partner and the father of her 3-year-old son in August.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- BBC News
Hennops river: South Africa mystery after police officers found dead
Police in South Africa are searching for answers after the bodies of three police officers - who had been missing for six days - were found in a Senoge, aged 20, Cebekhulu Linda, 24, and 30-year-old Keamogetswe Buys were last seen leaving a petrol station near Johannesburg last bodies were discovered by divers around 70km (43 miles) away in Hennops river, along with the remains of two other unnamed police initially said they were investigating a case of "possible hijacking and kidnapping" but on Tuesday said they could not speculate whether or not the deaths were accidental. The three police officers - all constables - were travellng in a white VW Polo when they went missing, a police statement vehicle tracking device and mobile phones have been off since then.A search team subsequently "spent sleepless nights combing the length and breadth" of the Gauteng, Free State and Limpopo provinces, eventually finding parts of a vehicle "believed to be" a VW Polo, said national police commissioner Fannie Masemola.A Renault Kangoo van was then found nearby on the banks of Hennops river, in the municipality of three officers were travelling from Free State to Limpopo, when they were went searched that part of the river and recovered five bodies between Monday and with the three constables, the divers found the remains of a police admin clerk, who has not been named. The clerk had been driving the Renault van, said Gen added that the fifth body was decomposed and had not yet been identified. The police are still looking for the VW Polo that the officers were travelling search for the missing police officers has been followed closely by the South African public and prayers for the three constables had been circulating across social the bodies were found, devastated loved ones gathered along the banks of the Hennops river, holding an address on Tuesday, Gen Masemola said: "We don't want to speculate at this stage what led to the discovery of these bodies in this river, whether it was an accident or not, our investigation will reveal those aspects once we find their vehicle." This marks a significant change in tone from Sunday, when the commissioner said: "We cannot have criminals undermine the authority of the state by kidnapping three police officers. This is just a stern warning to those behind this incident, either you hand yourselves over, or we will fetch you ourselves." More South Africa stories from the BBC: Racially charged row between Musk and South Africa over StarlinkIs it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats?What's really driving Trump's fury with South Africa?Trapped underground with decaying bodies, miners faced a dark reality Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
