Warren Rhode (31). (Photo: Facebook / Warren Rhoode)
Warren Rhoode (31), son of Maj. Gen. Wally Rhoode, head of pres. Cyril Ramaphosa’s protection service was found dead after a days-long search.
His parents identified his body on Saturday at a state mortuary in Tygerberg after they reported him missing on 23 April. They searched desperately for him for 12 days.
Brig. Athlenda Mathe, national police spokesperson, told Rhewal on Monday that a case of murder is being investigated and that the Western Cape police are working tirelessly to track down the culprits.
“Gen. Fannie Masemola, national police commissioner, has instructed that all resources must be prioritized for the investigation,” she said.
Mathe further confirmed that Rhoode’s body was already found with stab wounds in Delft on 22 April. It is not known why it took so long to identify him or notify the family that his body was at the morgue.
It seems at this stage that Rhoode may have been killed during a hijacking incident. According to Mathe, “his vehicle was stolen”.
According to information previously distributed by organizations that help search for missing people, this vehicle was last seen in Eindhoven in Delft. Rhoode apparently went to the Delft area to visit a friend.
Rhoode’s father has been particularly in the news over the past year regarding the controversy Phala Phala-ondersoekin which Ramaphosa is central.
In ʼn interim report launched in March this year on the matter, Ramaphosa is cleared of any wrongdoing. The report did raise serious questions about Rhoode, who according to Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka, acting Public Protector, abused his position in an unofficial investigation in which police resources were used.
