Additional suspects arrested in the Senekal farm incident

Four more suspects will appear in court for the incident on a farm in Senekal after being arrested last night. They were arrested last night by the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit in collaboration with the Welkom K9 Unit in Bronville. On 17 May 2023 at about 20:30, Mr Adames Paulus Stemmett (54), his wife and her friend came home to The Heights Farm, Senekal. They were overpowered and robbed of three firearms, jewelry, cellphones and cash. Shortly thereafter, Fokotho Tlaitlai (37) was arrested and a large amount of cash was found on him. The alleged getaway vehicle was parked next to the road, not far from the farm. Nthabiseng Mokwena (33) was the driver and was arrested.

Upon further investigation, an Uzzi firearm and vehicle keys of the victims were found outside the yard of the farm the same night. The search continued the following day, when the police recovered some more of the stolen items. They recovered two 9mm pistols, two airguns, a gas pistol, food, clothes, a cellphone and jewelry. The two suspects abandoned bail on Friday 26 May 2023 and will appear again on 30 June 2023. The case was assigned to a member of the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, who received information about other suspects linked to this incident. The unit, together with the Welkom K9 Unit, went to the identified houses in Hani Park, Bronville. Four suspects, aged 27, 31 and 39, were arrested and linked with the Senekal robbery.

The police found a camera bag and a memory card in their possession and seized them, which were positively identified by the farmer. One of the four suspects was found in possession of a 9mm pistol with the serial number filed off. He will be charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, which will undergo ballistic testing to determine whether it was not previously used in the commission of a crime. Two more suspects were arrested at the same houses but could not be linked to the Senekal incident. The additional arrested suspects will appear in the Senekal court on 5 June 2023, in connection with their alleged involvement in the Senekal incident.

Source: South African Police Service