South African police detective Frans Mathipa died in August 2023. Someone shot him while he drove near Pretoria. Police have charged seven special forces soldiers and one military police officer with his murder. All eight men say they did not kill him. Police records say a special forces car followed Mathipa before the shooting. Data from the car also puts it near the place where he died.

Mathipa worked for a top police team called the Hawks. He was studying the case of Abdella Abadigga, an Ethiopian man. Police say special forces soldiers took Abadigga and his guard from a shopping centre near Johannesburg in December 2022. Their bodies have not been found. Cars at the shopping centre belonged to a company used by the special forces. Mathipa asked the soldiers for more information. He told his boss that he feared they would kill him.

Police have arrested 12 military members in the two cases. They face charges for the deaths, taking the men away, and stopping the police work. All of them deny the charges. A court told six men to return to prison, but three did not go. They still work for the army, and one received a higher job. The army has not given them to the police. No trial date has been set. Mathipa’s family wants the case to go to court and wants justice for his death.