The Inquest into the death of Willem Kruger, 29, in November last year, has officially been changed to a murder investigation.
New questions are now being asked about the bachelor party at a lodge near the small farming town of Morgenzon in Mpumalanga which the young farmer attended.
The disappearance of Kruger made national headlines and soon rumours started swirling that there was foul play involved.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala says police have made a shocking discovery through their investigation and are now more convinced that there was indeed foul play.
He says Kruger allegedly left the party in the early hours of 13 November 2022 but when he never arrived home he was reported missing.
An extensive search was conducted to find Kruger and his white Toyota bakkie, which seemingly just disappeared.
Brigadier Mohlala says they searched the Vaal River and surrounding area for four days until they were made to believe that Kruger might have driven himself into the river.
He says the bakkie was then discovered with a body inside, in an area that had already been searched.
Police identified Kruger's body through his dental records and also established that he was dead before entering the water.
Brigadier Mohlala says it is important to note that Kruger's phone and car tracker had been switched off.
Earlier it was reported through witnesses that Kruger made a phone call.
Mohlala says when the bakkie was pulled out of the water the vehicle’s gear was found in park mode with its handbrake pulled up while the keys were not in the ignition.
In February, Kruger's father approached Afriforum's Private Prosecution Unit to probe the Inquest.
Two months later in April, the unit's Advocate Gerrie Nel said none of the information gathered pointed to foul play.
Brigadier Mohlala says they are working with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to bring possible charges of Perjury and defeating the ends of justice against some witnesses.
He says there has been such an enormous interest in this case that they deemed it fit to give the update, however, no further details will be shared at this stage.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has reassured the public that the Detectives assigned to the murder are seasoned investigators who will get the desired result.
