Three individuals have been apprehended for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Rand Water executive Teboho Joala and his bodyguard. The incident happened in front of pupils at a community hall in Zakariyya Park, south of Johannesburg, on 29 January 2024.
Joala, affectionately known as "TJ," previously served as the ANC Tshwane regional spokesperson and was the chief shared services officer at Rand Water, overseeing aspects of supply chain management.
A cellphone video captured during the event shows a man, initially seated among the children at a back-to-school campaign, approaching Joala on stage before opening fire.
READ: ANC horrified by daylight murder of former spokesperson and Rand Water executive
Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said the three suspects were nabbed in an intelligence-driven operation by the Gauteng Serious and Violent Crime Investigation (SVCI) Murder and Robbery team that has been following up on various leads in this double murder.
She said:
The team, Muridili said, then travelled to KwaZulu-Natal in pursuit of the suspects and managed to arrest two men who are linked to the murder.
READ: Body guards or not: Scourge of brazen assassinations on the increase in SA
She said of the three suspects arrested, two had warrants of arrest issued against them in the same case.
Muridili explained:
She said the 27-year-old accused remained in custody, and his case had been remanded to 16 May 2024.
Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni commended the police on the arrest of the suspects.