LIMPOPO — The ongoing Tebogo Mothapo murder investigation has yielded a major breakthrough in Limpopo, with authorities confirming the arrest of a teenager linked to the fatal shooting of the prominent Mankweng businessman.
Law enforcement officials tracked down the 19-year-old female suspect in Mankweng Zone One on Sunday, 30 August 2026. Her detention marks a pivotal moment in the probe into the death of the 43-year-old victim, who was violently attacked and gunned down in the local policing precinct on 16 December 2025.
The recent apprehension was the culmination of an intensive, intelligence-led strategy. A multidisciplinary task force—made up of the Provincial Investigation Unit, the Provincial Tracking Team, and the Capricorn Tracing Team—executed the operation with crucial support from Tshimollo Security and Investigations, an external partner dedicated to crime combating.
Limpopo’s Provincial Commissioner of Police, Lieutenant General Jan Scheepers, praised the relentless efforts of the combined operational units. Scheepers expressed his approval of the breakthrough, highlighting the investigators’ dedication and persistence in securing justice for the slain entrepreneur and resolving the brutal case.
With this latest development, the total number of individuals in custody for the crime has reached two. Authorities previously detained 27-year-old Osama Azad on 20 July 2026 in Ga-Mothapo Tjatjaneng. Azad, a naturalized South African citizen of Pakistani descent, was the first to be linked to the conspiracy.
The newly detained teenager is slated to make her first appearance at the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 31 August 2026. Prosecutors have prepared a stringent docket against her, featuring charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
