The tragic deaths of three police officers, whose bodies were recently discovered in the Hennops River in Centurion, have left South Africa shaken. Among the grieving families is Paul Senoge, father of 24-year-old Constable Boipelo Senoge, who says that only the discovery of the missing VW Polo will provide full closure and answers about what really happened to his daughter.
Constables Boipelo Senoge, Keamogetswe Buys (30), and Cebekhulu Linda (24) were reported missing after being last seen in the early hours of Thursday morning at a petrol station near the Grasmere Toll Plaza along the N1 in Gauteng. The trio was traveling in a silver VW Polo hatchback, registration number JCL 401 FS. Since then, the vehicle has vanished, along with their phones and tracking devices.
The case has drawn national attention, with National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola confirming that the vehicle remains missing. He emphasized that locating the car could unlock vital information about the mysterious deaths, particularly how and why the officers ended up in the river.
The officers’ bodies were among five retrieved from the Hennops River. The search began when vehicle parts suspected to belong to a VW Polo were found along the N1. Investigators were then led to the riverbank, where they discovered a submerged Renault Kangoo panel van. Divers from SAPS and Tshwane Metro Police soon recovered multiple bodies from the river.
Constables Buys and Linda were part of Operation Vala Umgodi, a police initiative against illegal mining. Buys worked in the cybercrime unit, while Linda was attached to crime intelligence. Constable Senoge, who was off duty at the time, worked at the Park Road police station in Bloemfontein. According to her family, she was accompanying her boyfriend, Linda, on a trip to Limpopo.
Her father, Paul Senoge, said the family had been praying for her safe return. “She told us she would accompany them to Limpopo and then fly back to work. We never imagined that would be the last time we’d hear from her,” he said.
After several days of searching, her body was among those recovered, bringing a small degree of peace to the Senoge family. “The only closure we have now is that her body was found. But without that vehicle, we don’t have the full picture,” her father said.
Masemola revealed that one of the deceased, the driver of the Renault van, was a police officer from Lyttelton police station. He had last been seen visiting friends before disappearing. His wife tracked his vehicle near their home in Hennops Park, but only reported him missing after the submerged vehicle was found.
As police continue to investigate, the families are left with unanswered questions. “We need accountability. We need the truth,” Senoge said. The search for the missing VW Polo continues, with authorities combing the river and surrounding areas for any remaining clues.