He was investigating South Africa’s Special Forces, and then he was murdered
For four months, South African police detective Frans Mathipa had been trying to obtain crucial information for a sensitive investigation.
When he was finally promised access, he told his commanding officer he feared he would not live to see the case through.
“Brigadier, you know, these people - they are going to kill me. I'm going to die,” Mathipa reportedly said.
Two days later, in August 2023, the Hawks detective was shot dead while driving on a motorway outside Pretoria.
Three years on, seven Special Forces members and one military police officer have been charged with his murder. They deny the charges, and no trial date has been set. Three of those accused have also reportedly failed to comply with a court order revoking their bail.
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At the time of his death, Mathipa was investigating the disappearance of Ethiopian national Abdella Hussein Abadigga and his bodyguard, Kadir Abotese.
Abadigga was no ordinary missing person. In 2022, the US Treasury sanctioned him, accusing him of recruiting young men in South Africa for weapons training, extorting money and sending funds to ISIS supporters elsewhere in Africa. The US also identified him as a trusted supporter of ISIS figure Bilal al-Sudani.
But Mathipa's investigation was focused on a different allegation: that South African Special Forces had abducted and killed Abadigga and Abotese in December 2022.
Evidence obtained by investigators reportedly connected vehicles seen around the time of their disappearance to Peters Communications Trust (PCT), described in police documents as a Special Forces front company.
That same company would later surface in the investigation into Mathipa's death.
Police say a black BMW followed Mathipa shortly before he was shot. Toll-camera footage allegedly identified Special Forces officer Sunnybooi Wambi as one of its occupants, while the vehicle was also registered to PCT.
The wider case has led to the arrests of 12 South African military personnel on various charges connected to Mathipa, Abadigga and Abotese. All deny the charges.
“We need justice,” his daughter Basetsana said. “I'm never going to see my dad anymore... Why my dad? Because he was doing his job.”
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This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
