Lesotho national Maliehe Maliehe, 34, appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (10/2) on two counts of murder, one of possession of a firearm, and one of illegal immigration. The state opposed bail. 

The case has been postponed to Tuesday (17/2) for the bail application.

On Sunday, Maliehe reportedly left a local tavern with the two women before he allegedly shot and killed them. Police officers on patrol discovered the victims’ bodies lying in a pool of blood on a street in Namibia Square at around 01:50 on Sunday.

Both had sustained fatal gunshot wounds to the back of their heads and were declared dead on the scene.

At around 13:30 on Sunday, police acted on crucial information from the community regarding the suspects’ whereabouts. Officers intercepted a white Toyota Quantum with five occupants.

In a striking turn of events, the vehicle was tactically stopped on the same street where the murders had occurred earlier that day, said Free State police spokesperson Sgt Mahlomola Kareli. Upon searching the vehicle and its occupants, police recovered one unlicensed 9mm pistol with six rounds of live ammunition. 

Five suspects, all foreign nationals, were taken into custody. Maliehe appeared separately, while four other suspects appeared in the same court on charges of illegal immigration.

Meanwhile, police are also in search of suspects after the body of an unidentified woman, believed to be in her mid 30s, was discovered along Meadows Road in Bloemspruitin the vicinity of the Bram Fisher International Airport on Saturday.

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OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi