A Butterworth man traced his own car and the man in possession of it through social media this week while police dragged their heels.Walter Sisulu University lecturer Malakhiwe Jafta, who uses his VW Amarok bakkie for his construction business, discovered his vehicle was missing on Boxing Day.
He said that after opening a complaint of a stolen vehicle at the Msobomvu police station he was told that a case number would be sent to him via SMS. The case number was sent 48 hours later but a detective is yet to be assigned to the matter.
He sent out a Bolo (Be on the Look Out for) to all his WhatsApp contacts. After following several empty leads, he found his vehicle in Godidi village, Centane, on Monday, two days after it vanished.
“When we received a tip-off on Wednesday via social media, we called the police,” he said. But when he told them about the tip-off, he was told to wait for an officer from the Queenstown unit who would call him in about an hour. After two hours of waiting, he called the Butterworth officer back but, he claimed, his call was cut. No one called him back.
Jafta then contacted the community members who had tipped him off about the whereabouts of the car. They had taken both the R570000 vehicle and the man who was in possession of it to the Msobomvu police station.
However, Jafta was disappointed when he was told he could not view the damaged car since no detective had processed the vehicle three days after he opened a case. He could only see it after a detective was assigned to his case, and that was after the car was recovered.
Butterworth police spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha said cases relating to stolen vehicles reported in the Msobomvu, Butterworth and other surrounding police stations are investigated by a special SAPS unit that sits in Queenstown, serving a number of stations. “Cases of this nature are referred to that unit,” he said.
Manatha said the “process of transferring dockets and documents may have caused the delay in assigning the docket to the investigating officer”.
How the unit investigates matters from 160km away is unclear as Manatha refused to divulge this information. “We cannot disclose operational information as it will jeopardise investigations,” he said.
The arrested man, who has since sent a message to Jafta apologising for his actions, appeared in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court for a bail hearing on Thursday, according to Manatha.
Police have opened a case of malicious damage to property and an investigation is under way. — silusaphon@timesmedia.co.za
‘WhatsApp sleuth’ beats cops to his car
Walter Sisulu University lecturer Malakhiwe Jafta, who uses his VW Amarok bakkie for his construction business, discovered his vehicle was missing on Boxing Day.
He said that after opening a complaint of a stolen vehicle at the Msobomvu police station he was told that a case number would be sent to him via SMS. The case number was sent 48 hours later but a detective is yet to be assigned to the matter.
He sent out a Bolo (Be on the Look Out for) to all his WhatsApp contacts. After following several empty leads, he found his vehicle in Godidi village, Centane, on Monday, two days after it vanished.
“When we received a tip-off on Wednesday via social media, we called the police,” he said. But when he told them about the tip-off, he was told to wait for an officer from the Queenstown unit who would call him in about an hour. After two hours of waiting, he called the Butterworth officer back but, he claimed, his call was cut. No one called him back.
Jafta then contacted the community members who had tipped him off about the whereabouts of the car. They had taken both the R570000 vehicle and the man who was in possession of it to the Msobomvu police station.
However, Jafta was disappointed when he was told he could not view the damaged car since no detective had processed the vehicle three days after he opened a case. He could only see it after a detective was assigned to his case, and that was after the car was recovered.
Butterworth police spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha said cases relating to stolen vehicles reported in the Msobomvu, Butterworth and other surrounding police stations are investigated by a special SAPS unit that sits in Queenstown, serving a number of stations. “Cases of this nature are referred to that unit,” he said.
Manatha said the “process of transferring dockets and documents may have caused the delay in assigning the docket to the investigating officer”.
How the unit investigates matters from 160km away is unclear as Manatha refused to divulge this information. “We cannot disclose operational information as it will jeopardise investigations,” he said.
The arrested man, who has since sent a message to Jafta apologising for his actions, appeared in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court for a bail hearing on Thursday, according to Manatha.
Police have opened a case of malicious damage to property and an investigation is under way. — silusaphon@timesmedia.co.za
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