The assassins who gunned down Chanelle Henning, the young Pretoria
mother, in cold blood last Tuesday, may have been paid by a prominent
Nigerian drug dealer.
The New Age was told just hours after the two alleged assassins were taken in for questioning in the early hours of yesterday, that they were CAT and cocaine users
Two men were allegedly involved in the gruesome killing of 26-year-old Henning while her five-year-old son, Benjamin, saw masked motorcyclists following them minutes before she died.
After Henning dropped off Ben at crèche last Tuesday, the gunmen rode past her and several shots were fired into the driver’s side of her car.
She was hit under her arm and her lung was ruptured. The dying young mother desperately tried to keep her car on the road until she bumped into a rubbish bin and the car finally came to rest 350m further on.
The two men, one a suspended police officer and the other a convicted criminal who spent years behind bars and owns a black Kawasaki ZX9, were taken into custody by the police late on Monday night.
It is believed that the policeman was interrogated until the early hours of yesterday morning after he volunteered his cooperation. Provincial spokesperson Lt-Col Katlego Mogale described the investigation into Henning’s murder as “very sensitive” and said they could not confirm or deny at this stage if anybody was taken in for questioning.
According to the The New Age’s source close to the suspects, police inquires into the incident now indicate that Henning was gunned down by killers hired by somebody with links to a well-known Nigerian drug lord, also known to The New Age.
The New Age investigation found that the policeman, once stationed at Hercules in Pretoria west, was suspended from duty about three months ago after a murder docket disappeared.
The murder weapon, a .38 calibre revolver, was bought in Waverley, Pretoria, in the weeks before Henning’s killing. The source told The New Age he thought the policeman wanted the firearm to commit suicide as a result of the pending case against him.
When reading about the shooting last Wednesday, the source said, he made the link between the .38 revolver, the black Kawasaki and a wooden container laden with cocaine handed by the Nigerian to the policeman’s wife at their home in Pretoria Gardens. He also alleged that the owner of the Kawasaki had a bag of about 100 grams of CAT valued at R50 000 at the house, claiming it was given to him by the Nigerian.
Henning was laid to rest on Monday in an emotional memorial service at the Doxa Deo Church in Hartbeespoort, hours before her suspected killers were taken in for questioning.
Her father, Ivan Saincic, said she was followed on Monday last week by a motorcyclist from her home to Woodhill College, where she worked as a teaching assistant. Henning was shot the next day, moments after dropping off Benjamin at Morningstar Montessori crèche.
She and Benjamin lived in Faerie Glen Hill Estates, near the crèche. The gunmen appeared to have been waiting for her outside the crèche.
According to reports, Chanelle had to get a court order to get Ben’s father, Nico Henning, to hand Ben back to her last Easter. The legal battle intensified and the court appointed a curator who placed the boy in foster care for eight months, which put Chanelle and her parents under emotional and financial strain.
It is understood the Henning couple had to undergo numerous psychological evaluations before Chanelle finally secured her son’s return in December.
The agreement gave Nico rights to see his child every second weekend and on Wednesdays.
dewetp@thenewage.co.za
The New Age was told just hours after the two alleged assassins were taken in for questioning in the early hours of yesterday, that they were CAT and cocaine users
Two men were allegedly involved in the gruesome killing of 26-year-old Henning while her five-year-old son, Benjamin, saw masked motorcyclists following them minutes before she died.
After Henning dropped off Ben at crèche last Tuesday, the gunmen rode past her and several shots were fired into the driver’s side of her car.
She was hit under her arm and her lung was ruptured. The dying young mother desperately tried to keep her car on the road until she bumped into a rubbish bin and the car finally came to rest 350m further on.
The two men, one a suspended police officer and the other a convicted criminal who spent years behind bars and owns a black Kawasaki ZX9, were taken into custody by the police late on Monday night.
It is believed that the policeman was interrogated until the early hours of yesterday morning after he volunteered his cooperation. Provincial spokesperson Lt-Col Katlego Mogale described the investigation into Henning’s murder as “very sensitive” and said they could not confirm or deny at this stage if anybody was taken in for questioning.
According to the The New Age’s source close to the suspects, police inquires into the incident now indicate that Henning was gunned down by killers hired by somebody with links to a well-known Nigerian drug lord, also known to The New Age.
The New Age investigation found that the policeman, once stationed at Hercules in Pretoria west, was suspended from duty about three months ago after a murder docket disappeared.
The murder weapon, a .38 calibre revolver, was bought in Waverley, Pretoria, in the weeks before Henning’s killing. The source told The New Age he thought the policeman wanted the firearm to commit suicide as a result of the pending case against him.
When reading about the shooting last Wednesday, the source said, he made the link between the .38 revolver, the black Kawasaki and a wooden container laden with cocaine handed by the Nigerian to the policeman’s wife at their home in Pretoria Gardens. He also alleged that the owner of the Kawasaki had a bag of about 100 grams of CAT valued at R50 000 at the house, claiming it was given to him by the Nigerian.
Henning was laid to rest on Monday in an emotional memorial service at the Doxa Deo Church in Hartbeespoort, hours before her suspected killers were taken in for questioning.
Her father, Ivan Saincic, said she was followed on Monday last week by a motorcyclist from her home to Woodhill College, where she worked as a teaching assistant. Henning was shot the next day, moments after dropping off Benjamin at Morningstar Montessori crèche.
She and Benjamin lived in Faerie Glen Hill Estates, near the crèche. The gunmen appeared to have been waiting for her outside the crèche.
According to reports, Chanelle had to get a court order to get Ben’s father, Nico Henning, to hand Ben back to her last Easter. The legal battle intensified and the court appointed a curator who placed the boy in foster care for eight months, which put Chanelle and her parents under emotional and financial strain.
It is understood the Henning couple had to undergo numerous psychological evaluations before Chanelle finally secured her son’s return in December.
The agreement gave Nico rights to see his child every second weekend and on Wednesdays.
dewetp@thenewage.co.za
