Constable Thapelo Mashigo eventually shot and killed himself photo supplied
The 16-hour marathon-like drama in Buffer Zone, Mamelodi East ended in tears and death as 32-year-old hostage-taker Constable Thapelo Mashigo eventually shot and killed himself.
Mashigo had held his own mother and nephew hostage inside the family home in Buffer Zone, Mamelodi East from 8am on Tuesday morning.
The hostage drama ended just before midnight when Mashigo released his mother from the house, this after an agreement with police’s hostage negotiators.
He had held his mother captive together with his 18-year-old nephew inside the house.
It later emerged that Mashigo had apparently shot and killed his own nephew earlier on, reportedly after he (the nephew) had tried to intervene when Mashigo was interrogating his own mother regarding the paternity of a 4-year-old child who he had raised as his own but was biologically not his.
Constable Mashigo asserted that his own brother had fathered the child after having a secret romantic and sexual relationship with his (Constable’s) girlfriend.
He also insisted that his own mother knew about the romantic affair between his own brother and girlfriend and also about the fact that the affair had produced a child who he (Constable) had been duped into believing was his own child.
Before resorting to taking his family members hostage, Mashigo had claimed that he had paternity test results indicating that the child was not his offspring.
Meanwhile, Police Spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili told Tshwane Talks that police from Mamelodi East responded to the hostage situation on Tuesday and established that it had been sparked by a family dispute.
“Witnesses reported that the Constable had fired two shots and was refusing to let his 69-year-old mother and 18-year-old nephew out of the house, but hostage negotiators managed to persuade the Constable to release his elderly mother at around 11pm and she was immediately treated by paramedics before being transported to hospital,” said Muridili.
“The SAPS Special Task Force members were about to tactically penetrate the house while the negotiators were still trying to get the Constable to surrender himself when two gunshots were heard coming from the house, and upon entering the house the Special Task Force members found the body of the Constable, and after ransacking the house further, they discovered the corpse of the Constable’s 18-year-old nephew riddled with gunshot wounds,” she said.
Muridili said a case of murder and of kidnapping, as well as an inquest will be registered at the Mamelodi East Police Station; adding that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) would be informed about the matter.
32-year-old Constable Thapelo Mashigo was based at the Boschkop police station in the Far East of Mamelodi and was currently deployed at the regional Essential Infrastructure Task Team.
He had joined the SAPS in 2019.
Be that as it may, an anonymous source has alleged that Constable Thapelo Mashigo was a drug addict who also sold drugs and had relations with gangsters.
A family member who also wished to remain anonymous told Tshwane Talks that Constable Thapelo Mashigo resorted to taking his mother and nephew hostage so as to force his “cheating” girlfriend and his own brother to come to the house so that he would kill them as they had betrayed him by having a relationship behind his back and having a child who all along he (Constable Mashigo) had thought was his own.
“Constable Mashigo had the belief that his brother and girlfriend had bewitched him so that he would be fired from his job as a police officer, and after eating a cake that they had offered him on Saturday, he started saying the said cake had been laced with muthi,” said the anonymous family member.
Hoerskool Silverton, where the deceased 18-year-old Mashigo was a learner, released the following statement:
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Grade 12 learner Keitumetse Mashigo (18) on the evening of Tuesday, 9 September 2025.”
The statement further reads as follows:
“Keitumetse was a vibrant, outspoken young leader- actively involved in school activities and extramural programmes – who showed a keen interest in the development of the school and the growth of others; a true Silver learner.”