The Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, welcomes the efforts by the SAPS in the Western Cape, under the leadership of Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Matakata, to restore justice to the community of Pine Valley, Wolseley. Minister Fritz will further request that the Department of Community Safety’s court watching brief unit monitor the case going forward.
This follows the gruesome discovery of the accused, Siyamnkela Sobambela (33 years old), dragging the body of Bernadine ‘Bernie’ Fran (20 years old) to a nearby field. Community members acted quickly and alerted SAPS to the incident at approximately 11pm on Saturday.
Thereafter, SAPS arrived, discovered the body and arrested the suspect. The next day, two unidentified bodies were discovered in shallow graves in a nearby field. The accused has since appeared at Wolseley Magistrates Court on Tuesday on three charges of murder and will appear again on 9 December 2020.
Minister Fritz said, “I wish to commend SAPS on their sterling efforts thus far. On Sunday afternoon, SAPS crime scene experts including the K-9 unit, detectives and fingerprint experts were on the scene until late in afternoon combing the scene for evidence. On Monday, the Provincial Commissioner personally visited the devastated community and demonstrating that every effort is being taken by SAPS to restore calm.”
Minister Fritz added, “I further wish to commend the vigilant community members who reported the suspicious activity by the accused and who spotted the shallow graves. Had this not been reported, more lives could have been at stake.”
Minister Fritz continued, “I will request that my Court Watching Brief Unit monitor this case going forward as a matter of urgency. At the time, I wish to state that it is not acceptable for community members to take criminal matters into their own hands and cannot condone the burning of the accused’s home.”
Minister Fritz further added, “The SAPS have stated that there may be more victims. The NPA have stated that while the accused has been charged with three murders, his charges may increase while the investigation continues. For that reason, I call on members of the public with any information to come forward and report such to the SAPS on Crime Stop 08600 10111, use the Tip Off function on the MySAPS app or call Detective Sergeant Pieters of Wolseley SAPS on 079 894 0195.”
