Criminal charges have been withdrawn against the homeless Bloemfontein man who claims to have witnessed the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, Free State police said on Friday.
Senior Superintendent Sam Sesing said charges of theft and housebreaking had been withdrawn on Thursday.
The 24-year-old man was to have appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court after he was brought from Gauteng on Thursday morning on a warrant.
A court official said on Friday that the case was withdrawn because police indicated that the charges would be dropped due to the investigation not having been completed.
It was reported on Friday that the man had appeared on charges of housebreaking and theft, which allegedly happened on December 30 last year in a Bloemfontein suburb.
He was arrested in Johannesburg on Wednesday after being interviewed by the South African Broadcasting Corporation about his claims that he witnessed the Kebble murder.
However, his whereabouts in Bloemfontein on Friday could not be confirmed by police.
A suspect would normally be released soon after charges had been withdrawn.
Sesing also could not confirm if any further or other charges were being investigated against him.
While in Gauteng, he was questioned by police investigating the Kebble murder.
He indicated that he had been sleeping in a swamp at the James and Ethel Gray park in Melrose, from where he apparently saw what happened. — Sapa