Frank Maponya

Frank Maponya

Three months ago, Constable Ntwanano Agreement Maringa of the MW Makhubela police station in Giyani was rewarded for his tough stance against crime and corruption.

This was after Maringa, 23, declined two attempts of bribery by motorists he had arrested in the Giyani area.

But Maringa surprised his colleagues this past weekend when he shot his police girlfriend, Brenda Hlungwane, 25, before taking his own life.

Hlungwane was attached to the Letsitele police station. On Saturday the two had an argument at Maringa's home in Section A, Giyani.

Maringa pulled out his service pistol and shot Hlungwane twice in the hips and then fatally shot himself in the head.

Hlungwane was taken to the nearby Nkhensani Hospital from where she was later transferred to Mankweng Hospital. She died on arrival there.

Giyani police spokesman Inspector Thomas Makhubele said yesterday the whole station was still shocked by the incident.

"Everybody at this station knew Maringa to be a very nice person who loved his job.

"At no stage had we thought something of this nature could happen to him," said Makhubele.

He said investigations were under way to determine the real cause of the tragedy.

In April Maringa was praised by the station's management after he refused to take bribes from two offenders.

This was after he pulled over an Ethiopian man who was driving a car while speaking on a cellphone. The man attempted to offer him a R50 bribe but wascharged with bribery and driving while speaking on the phone.

Maringa also arrested a 30-year-old man for driving an unroadworthy vehicle. The man, who did not have a driver's license, tried to bribe Maringa with R200 but failed.

Maringa was rewarded with an appreciation certificate and an undisclosed amount of money.