Missing South African magistrate?s lifeless body found in car boot, police arrest her husband

Police in South Africa have arrested the husband of a Regional Court Magistrate, Mamello Thamae,40, after her body was discovered in the boot of their car in Lesotho. 

Police had on Friday, September 22, 2023, launched a manhunt after Thamae and her husband, Lehlohonolo Maketoane, were reported missing. 

At the time, SAPS spokesperson, Captain Loraine Earle, said the pair were last seen in Heilbron, in the Free State.

“Magistrate Thamae arrived at her home in Heilbron. At around 4am on Thursday, the car drove off from the family home. A cellphone and her husband’s clothing were also missing. Her clothes and cellphone were still at home,” police said.

At the time, Earle said there was a strong suspicion that the vehicle may have driven through the Ficksburg Port of Entry into Lesotho.

On Saturday, September 23, police confirmed that the couple’s vehicle was traced to a guest house in Mokhotlong in Lesotho, where the Lesotho Mounted Police Service questioned the husband, who pointed out his wife’s lifeless body in the vehicle’s boot. 

“He was detained in Lesotho awaiting extradition back to South Africa to face possible charges of kidnapping and murder,” said Earle.

Police said processes were being followed to have the suspect brought back to Heilbron next week.