Kamogelo Olaitan
Three people have been taken in for questioning following the murder of a German tourist in Mpumalanga on Monday afternoon.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Wednesday that the three were not suspects but people of interest.
Cele said this while visiting Whote River with police commissioner Fannie Masemola.
German Joerg Schnarr, 67, was shot dead when he, his wife Vera and their friends Reiner and Andre Nuchter were travelling to a lodge near Numbi gate at the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga.
The couples who were travelling in an Hyundai H1 were stopped by three armed men in a VW Caddy.
The suspects allegedly ordered the tourists to open the doors of the car but Schnarr, who was driving, locked the doors and one suspect shot him in the upper body through the window.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the driver died on the spot when the vehicle drove in reverse for about 100 metres before crashing into the wall of Heroes Academy.
“The suspects sped off in their vehicle without taking anything from the tourist,” said Mohlala.
It’s believed that the tourist was killed in a botched hijacking.
Cele said that the three were not arrested but that they were being questioned.
“We are working to find out how far they [police] have gone with them — so we believe we will be able to crack the case very soon since the police have done the job. They [police] believe they are not far from cracking this case,” Cele said.
Cele added that they will bring in communities on board as they will help in their investigations.
“We are hopeful these people of interest will help us. That’s what the world will expect, that even [though] the incident happened, we are able to respond.”
Schnarr’s wife and their friends left the country on Wednesday.
