Maselspoort incident: Two released on warning, one in custody to face attempted murder

Following an incident of assault at Maselspoort Resort and Conference Centre of three white men attacking two black teenagers on Sunday, 25 December, the police have arrested trio suspects.

According to the Free State police spokesperson, brigadier Motantsi Makhele, based on the first information the police received, only two charges could be registered.

“The only charges which could be registered were assault common and crimean injuria,” said Motantshi.

The police however, did not stop there as they continued to obtain more statements from other witnesses. This compilation of statements formed part of the docket to be submitted to the senior state prosecutor.

After thoroughly reviewing the docket, the prosecutor instructed that another charge of attempted murder be added to the list of charges.

Yesterday, Motantsi reported that the investigating team worked tirelessly to trace the suspects.

“We can confirm that we arrested three suspects today,” informed Motantsi in a police report yesterday.

The first two suspects, Johan Nel (33) and Jan Stephanus van der Westhuizen (47) are from Bothaville and Brandfort respectively.

Duo suspects appeared before the court on charges of assault common and crimean injuria. The court postponed the case to 25th January 2023 and released the pair on warning.

The third suspect is a 48-year-old residing in Bloemdal, Bloemfontein, and has been in police custody since his arrest yesterday. He will appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court facing attempted murder as the main charge today.

The Free State provincial commissioner, lieutenant general Baile Motswenyane, commended the investigating team’s hard work of timeously finding suspects to serve justice. Motswenyane further stated that the matter was regarded as highly sensitive, hence the urgency to deal with it.