BREAKING: Chiefs make announcement on Luke Fleurs’ jersey number

Kaizer Chiefs paid their last respects to the late player Luke Fleurs on Thursday in Johannesburg. The club also made an announcement on the player’s jersey number.

KAIZER CHIEFS RETIRE LUKE FLEURS’ JERSEY NUMBER

The 24-year-old central defender was shot and killed during a hijacking in Florida, Gauteng, on Wednesday, 3 April. The club held his memorial service on Thursday where the Kaizer Chiefs Sporting Director, Kaizer Motaung Jr, announced Amakhosi‘s jersey 26 has been retired.

“To honour Luke’s life and legacy, the club has decided to retire jersey number 26. No other player will ever wear the jersey number again,” Motaung said at the event.

LIST OF RETIRED JERSEY NUMBERS AT KAIZER CHIEFS:

• Number 20 – Howard Freese
• Number 15 – Doctor Khumalo
• Number 26 – Luke Fleurs.

POLICE ARREST SUSPECTS

The Mitchells Plain-born player was attacked while waiting for service at a Shell Petrol Station near his place of residence.

“While waiting to be served by the petrol attendant, he [Fleurs] was confronted by two armed males who came driving a white BMW 1 Series,” Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo told the City Press.

“The suspects dragged Fleurs out of the car at gunpoint and shot him once in the upper body. One of the suspects fled the scene in the player’s car, followed by the accomplice in the BMW.”

Meanwhile, the South African Police Service (SAPS) have confirmed the arrests of six suspects in connection with the murder of the fallen Kaizer Chiefs star. The suspects were apprehended early on Wednesday, 10 April, at Slovoville in Soweto.

“The team that was appointed by the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni to trace and arrest the suspects who allegedly hijacked and killed the Kaizer Chiefs soccer player has made a breakthrough by arresting six suspects and recovering the victim’s car,” read the report according to iDiski Times.

“The six suspects were traced and arrested in Slovoville, Soweto, in the early hours of Wednesday, 10 April 2024, while the vehicle that was already stripped was recovered on Monday, 08 April 2024.

“Police believe that the suspects are part of a syndicate that is responsible for car hijacking in Gauteng, and the search for more suspects is continuing,” the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs confirmed that Luke Fleurs will be laid to rest in Mitchells Plain, Western Cape. The funeral will be held on Saturday, 20 April. The team will then face Richards Bay FC on Sunday, 21 April at the King Zwelithini Stadium, Durban.