How EMS team found five bodies in the Hennops river including three cops

When Gauteng emergency medical services (EMS) personnel responded to a call about a body spotted on a bank of the Hennops River in Centurion, Tshwane, they expected to perform a routine recovery.

Little did they know they were taking the first steps to helping solve a mystery that had gripped the nation for days – the case of three missing police constables who were travelling together from Bloemfontein in the Free State to Limpopo.

On Monday April 28 at about 9am, the EMS team went to the river where they were told there was a submerged vehicle. .

They recovered the body of a Lyttleton police station general worker and his wrecked car.

Shortly afterwards, they received another call informing them that a body had been seen on the riverbank.

The team returned to the river and were joined by rescue workers from the SAPS and City of Tshwane. .

Gauteng EMS team member Aubrey Lewete, 41, said after retrieving the body at about midday, they handed it over to the police, not knowing it was that of Linda Cebekhulu, 24, one of the three constables who had gone missing together with his girlfriend, Boipelo Senoge, 24, and Keamogetswe Buys, 30, a few days earlier.

“We didn’t know it was one of the police officers,” Lewete said. “We just thought it was somebody who had drowned.  It was only later that we were told it was one of the [missing] officers. That intensified our search because we thought if it were him, that means the two ladies are still in the water. People had questions, and we gave them answers.

“We then found the other officer [Senoge] the same day [about 5pm]. I remember she was wearing a pink watch. The following day, we found the other lady [Buys],” he said. 

The VW Polo the three constables were travelling in was recovered from the river.

“Finding them one by one, at that rate, was a good job,” Lewete said. “The families were crying, and the country was asking itself what had happened.

“I was relieved when I heard that the families confirmed it was their loved ones [and I thought] at least they would be able to bury their loved ones with dignity.

 “I still have to tap myself and say ‘we did it’ because the whole country was looking for them,” Lewete said.

Search and rescue teams found a fifth body in the river that week. Police believe it had been in the water for two weeks.

For Ernest Motswai, 41, who was also part of the EMS team, the most important thing was to bring closure to the families.

“Not knowing the fate of a [missing] loved one leaves a lot of questions,” he said.

Another EMS team member, Thabang Mphiwe, 34, said the only challenge they experienced in the search for the bodies was the strong current in the river.

“As soon as we managed to cut the strainers [in the river] with chainsaws, the river flow managed to move the debris, and the water level decreased. We then went back to where we believed the point of entry was [of the cops’ vehicle] and we were lucky that we did not have to search for long [before we found it],” he said.

The three EMS personnel said their rescue missions include saving people from collapsed buildings, vehicle accidents or those who got stranded on mountains.

They train every week and their vehicles are fully equipped to perform their rescue missions.

“We have equipment for swift water rescues, rope rescues, light motor vehicle rescues, and diving gear,” Lewete said. “All our vehicles have all those four components, so should there be a call of any kind, I know we have what we need and don’t have to call someone to give me equipment.”

Other water-related recoveries the EMS team have been involved in were recovering bodies from the floods in Durban in 2023, and floods in Malawi and Mozambique.

Another major recovery was that of a body that was chopped up and put in a refrigerator and dumped in a dam in Tshwane in December. 

“The first thing we recovered was a head wrapped with bricks,” Lewete said.

“Cases differ, and the way we handle them differs. KZN was never a problem for me because there was a big team, but with [the Hennops case] it was just the three of us [from the Gauteng EMS]. Emotionally, it takes a toll on us, and sometimes when a call comes, I just have to put myself in the family’s shoes.”

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