Three murder-accused suspects who escaped from police custody are expected to be extradited from Mozambique. This after failing to appear before the Polokwane High Court on Monday, 19 January 2026. Patrick Javas Mongwe, 49, Patrick Mabono Mbhombi, 39, Thabo Moye Makgoga, 24, and Khensani Mathebula, 32, were scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Only accused number four, Mathebula, appeared. The remaining three accused were absent, having allegedly escaped from Ritavi police custody and fled to Mozambique in June 2025. Mathebula was married to the late Themba Reymond Mathebula.
In June 2024, she allegedly contracted the services of the other accused to murder her husband, promising to pay them for carrying out the crime, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mashudu Malabi. “On 14 June 2024, the accused allegedly entered the deceased’s home while he was asleep, forcibly removed him, and placed him in his motor vehicle. “They are alleged to have driven to Constantia Road, where the car was stopped under a bridge.
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Acting in concert, the accused allegedly set the vehicle alight while the deceased was inside,” she said on Thursday. The matter has been postponed to 4 August 2026 to allow for the finalisation of the extradition process. Police in Letsitele, near Tzaneed in the Mopani district, launched a manhunt on 24 June 2025 following the three men’s escape from police cells that morning.
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