Two VIP Protection Officers assigned to the Madibeng Local Municipality Mayor in the North West, have been granted bail of R20 000 each by the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Thabang Sohole and Michael Makampe are facing charges of murder, defeating the ends of justice and operating a vehicle with blue identification lamps on an unauthorised vehicle on a public road.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) the incident occurred on 28 January 2026 when the deceased, Sergeant Michael Swanton, and his wife, who are both members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), were travelling along Eskia Mphahlele Drive towards the R80 when they were forced to stop by occupants driving a dark BMW SUV fitted with flashing blue lights.
“It is alleged that Sohole and Makampe exited the BMW, one of them armed with an R5 rifle, and approached the couple’s vehicle.
The deceased was seated in the passenger seat, while his wife was the driver.
The two allegedly questioned the couple about a missing rear number plate before returning to their vehicle.
The deceased then followed them to check their identification and establish whether they were police officials with lawful authority to stop and question them.
As he approached the BMW, he was allegedly shot in the head and died at the scene,” said NPA spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana
According to Mahanjana, the two accused handed themselves over at the Hercules Police Station a few hours later, claiming that they were victims of an attempted hijacking and that a shooting had occurred on the R80.
During the suspects court appearance on Friday, state prosecutor, Chris Maruma opposed their release on bail, arguing that the two might try to influence the state witnesses and might interfere with investigations.
“However, magistrate Mphahlele found that exceptional circumstances existed warranting the accused person’s release on bail.
Furthermore, he ordered that the two should not contact directly or indirectly the state witnesses,” explained Mahanjana.
The case was postponed to 9 April for further investigations.
