PRETORIA – South African law enforcement agencies have achieved major breakthroughs in a series of high-profile operations, resulting in the arrest of two Mpumalanga government officials for a targeted assassination and the apprehension of over 76,000 undocumented foreign nationals countrywide.

In a significant blow to state corruption, the SAPS Tshwane District Organised Crime Investigation unit has arrested two officials attached to the Mpumalanga Office of the Premier. The suspects are implicated in the September 2023 murder of senior forensic investigator Mabidi Mashaba, who was leading a probe into government employees using fraudulent qualifications. Mashaba was ambushed en route to Pretoria when his vehicle was sprayed with over 20 bullets. The attackers stole his work laptop and sensitive files before he succumbed to his injuries.

One suspect, Eckson Mkondo, has already appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, with his bail hearing set for 4 June 2026. The second suspect is scheduled to appear on Friday, 29 May 2026. Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane lauded the breakthrough, asserting that SAPS remains resolute in rooting out criminality regardless of the suspects’ political or social status.

Simultaneously, National Police Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe announced that SAPS has arrested 76,588 undocumented foreign nationals over the past financial year, running from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The momentum has sustained into the current term under the multi-disciplinary “Operation Shanela,” which netted approximately 1,900 undocumented individuals in the past week alone.

Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Bulelang Mbambeni reiterated that intensified operations will continue to ensure all individuals within the country are legally processed. In light of these large-scale sweeps, police have urged local communities to report illicit activities through official channels and strongly warned against acts of vigilantism.