Kamogelo Olaitan
The police in Johannesburg have released a picture and the name of an alleged arsonist who targeted homes in the city’s northern suburbs.
The suspect known as Sentious Novanshe has allegedly set houses on fire in the suburbs for two years and the police need the public’s help in catching him.
Novanshe is accused of multiple cases of arson, murder, and burglary.
Novanshe is alleged to have been targeting 20 homes mostly owned by the elderly in the upmarket suburbs since 2020.
He targeted homes in Craighall, Illovo, Hyde Park, Dunkeld, Bryanston, Houghton and Melrose.
The cat burglar would enter the homes at 4am in all the cases rob the houses before setting them on fire.
In the beginning, the suspect would start fires when the homeowners were away. But he has been setting the houses alight with the owners inside.
In May, the arsonist assaulted an elderly homeowner Risto Anjelopolj, locked him inside his home, and set it alight. The old man later died in hospital from the burn wounds.
Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello said Novans’ image comes from footage taken from inside one of the homes he entered.
“The arsonist spends time in the kitchen, eating and drinking and has even been bold enough to cook food for himself. Once done he sets fire to mattresses or blankets using burning fuel,” Sello said.
Sello said Novans served a previous prison sentence of seven years of which four years were suspended for five years.
Fidelity ADT has offered a R100,000 award for information that will lead to the capture of the suspect.
