Missing cops and journalist spark fears of 'third force'

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- SIFISO MAHLANGU

A GROWING sense of alarm surrounds the disappearance of three South African Police Service (SAPS) constables who went missing under mysterious circumstances while travelling from Bloemfontein to their deployment site in Limpopo.

The case is the latest in a string of unexplained disappearances that have ignited concerns over the possible existence of a covert "third force" targeting security personnel, activists and journalists in South Africa.

Constables Cebekhulu Linda (24), Keamogetswe Buys (30) and Boipelo Senoge (20) were last seen on Wednesday near the Grasmere toll plaza on the N1 highway, where their vehicle, a white Volkswagen Polo (registration number JCL 401 FS), was tracked to an Engen fuel station. Since then, their vehicle's tracking device and their mobile phones have gone dark. SAPS national spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, confirmed the troubling development.