'No one is above the law': Three SAPS members arrested for brutal murder of Mphilisi Mba
Acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, has urges officers to uphold the law after SAPS trio arrested for murder
Image: File
Three members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Embalenhle, Mpumalanga, have been arrested in connection with the murder of a local man, with the acting provincial commissioner urging officers to operate strictly within the law.
According to SAPS, the two police officers and a reservist were arrested on Thursday by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) following an investigation into the 2 October 2025 murder of Mphilisi Daniel Mba.
SAPS provincial spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane said the arrest followed an IPID investigation.
“The trio were arrested on Thursday, 20 November 2025 at about 3.30 pm by members of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate after an investigation in relation to a murder of Mphilisi Daniel Mba,” she said.
She added: “The three members are expected to appear at Evander Magistrate’s Court on (Friday) 21 November 2025.”
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, said officers were expected to uphold the law at all times.
He said: “No one is above the law, and if anyone is found to have committed crime the law will take its course without any favours.”
Last month, IOL reported that the High Court in Pretoria convicted police sergeant Kate Lindiwe Hlongwane, 45, for the premeditated murder of her husband, Russel Hlongwane, 40, who was also the father of their three children.
Hlongwane was based at the Dube police station in Tshwane, under the visible policing unit.
According to Gauteng regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Lumka Mahanjana, evidence presented in court showed that on 27 January 2024, Hlongwane visited a sangoma in Soshanguve.
Pretoria-based police sergeant Kate Lindiwe Hlongwane, 45, was convicted for the brutal murder of her husband, 40-year-old Russel Hlongwane, who was also the father of their three children.
Image: Facebook
“Her husband was alerted by the vehicle tracker that the family car was in a high-risk area. He then drove to the location and found Hlongwane consulting with the sangoma,” said Mahanjana.
“He instructed her to return home, and they each drove back in separate vehicles to their residence in Soshanguve Extension 7.”
Later that night, when Russel arrived home, he confronted his wife about the visit to the sangoma, and an argument ensued.
Russel told Kate that he would take her to his parents’ house so that she would “learn discipline”.
The couple began loading Kate’s clothes into their vehicle and drove off together.
A few minutes later, in the early hours of the morning, the couple returned home, where Hlongwane shot her husband several times with her service pistol.
Upon hearing the car return and gunshots soon after, the family’s domestic worker went outside to investigate.
“She then met the policewoman, who ignored her when she asked about her husband’s whereabouts,” said Mahanjana.
“The helper continued to search and found the deceased lying on the ground outside their gate, bleeding profusely next to a neighbour’s house. A neighbour, who also heard the gunshots, rushed the victim to Akasia Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.”
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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