Evidence that South African special forces murdered top detective shared with BBC

Lt Col Frans Mathipa was a respected detective and father of five Senior police detective Frans Mathipa had been fighting for four months to gain access to a crucial piece of information in the case he was working on. Finally, he was told, it was going to come his way. But he feared his pursuit of it could cost him his life. Two days later, his car was found overturned - he had been shot dead while driving. Now seven members of South Africa's special forces, and one military police officer, have been charged with murdering Lt Col Mathipa, a highly respected officer, in August 2023.

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Scoop News DeskSouth Africa · Published Sunday, August 9, 2026 at 11:05 PM UTCUpdated Monday, August 10, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC

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After Mathipa's death, special forces issued a chilling warning to The Hawks, the police documents say. "You can appoint 10 investigating officers; we will kill all of them," said the warning, according to police. The Pentagon did not respond to the BBC's question on whether Abadigga's phone helped locate al-Sudani, who was killed by US special forces in Somalia in January 2023, only a few weeks after Abadigga's alleged abduction. He had been granted temporary asylum in South Africa in 2008, but was arrested abroad in 2017.

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