There is no case enrolled against a man police arrested a few days ago, saying he was on the list of the most wanted suspects as a member of the notorious Boko Haram gang in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.

SowetanLIVE can reveal that Mongezi Nkosi walked out of the Mamelodi magistrate's court on Tuesday without even getting in the dock.

In response to Sowetan's questions on Wednesday, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Isaac Dhludhlu confirmed that the matter was not placed on the roll.

“A victim was at court to withdraw the case and the state wanted to proceed with [a case of] attempted murder.  The victim referred to the [alleged] shooter as 'Koketso' and the SAPS arrested a 'Mongezi Nkosi' [based] on information received.

“The victim was asked to accompany the investigation officer to the cells to point out the 'well known' person who shot him. He returned, [only] to say [that] the person in the cells did not shoot at him and [there was] no prima facie case to enrol,” Dhludhlu said.

Nkosi, who would not give a full interview on Tuesday, told SowetanLIVE that all he wanted to do was “go home and be with his family”.

He was arrested on December 26.

In a statement, provincial police spokesperson CPT Mavela Masondo said they have “successfully traced and arrested a 31-year-old suspect who is on the list of the most wanted suspects who are part of a notorious gang that call themselves Boko Haram”.

“This is a gang that was allegedly involved in robberies, extortion, intimidation and other serious and violent crimes in Mamelodi and the surrounding areas. The suspect was traced and located in Mamelodi where he was arrested on Sunday, 26 December 2021.

“He is suspected to be involved in crimes such as business robbery, extortion, intimidation and other serious and violent crimes. He is also reported to be involved in a chain store robbery in Mamelodi where undisclosed amount of cash and groceries were taken,” Masondo said.

He had also said the man would appear in the Pretoria magistrate's court but Nkosi was taken to the Mamelodi court.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela had also commended the team working on the case for making the arrest.

“I am pleased that this suspect is finally behind bars. As the police in Gauteng we remain committed in our resolve to rid the streets of Mamelodi of gangsterism. We are slowly taking back our communities.

“Since the establishment of both the combat and prevention team and the investigating team dedicated to rooting out gang related activities in Mamelodi earlier this year, we have been observing less and less harassment of the business community in this area,” said Mawela.

Masondo would not comment on the case not being placed on the roll, saying they stand by their statement.

Boko Haram has wreaked havoc in Mamelodi by collecting monthly protection fees from tuck shops owned by foreign nationals while they have attempted to hijack government-owned housing projects and have demanded shares from companies doing business in areas in and around Pretoria.

Over the past couple of months, several people believed to be members of the group have been gunned down, with the first two murdered at a popular night spot in Mamelodi on August 29.