The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Riah Phiyega, has expressed outrage and serious concerns about the rate at which SAPS officers continue to be killed by criminals.
Over the past five days, five police officers were killed - one in Gauteng, another in Limpopo and three in the Western Cape.
On Friday last week, Lieutenant Colonel Knox Chauke, a training coordinator at the Human Resources Division, SAPS Head Office, was gunned down in front of his house in Kagiso. Unknown gunmen attacked and shot him several times as he was closing the gate to his driveway. Nothing was taken from him.
On Sunday, at approximately 1h40, 54 year old Lieutenant Yezindaba Meshack Shikati and a constable were shot at by two men. These members were attending a complaint at Mabuza Tavern in Patanage Village, Ritavi, Limpopo when they came under heavy gunfire. The constable escaped unscathed but the lieutenant was killed instantly.
In the Western Cape, three police officers lost their lives, also at the hands of unscrupulous gunmen.
In the first incident, the body of a 26 year old sergeant from Gugulethu police station was found with multiple gunshot wounds next to his vehicle in Faure Road in the Mfuleni area near Kuils River.
In the latest incident yesterday, two police officers, a sergeant and a constable aged 35 and 28 years respectively, were gunned down in Nyanga. The police officers pursued a suspected stolen vehicle, which was abandoned by the occupants who then fled on foot.
The officers confirmed that the vehicle had indeed been hi-jacked and while waiting for a tow truck to arrive, they were gunned down in cold blood. Both members' guns were taken from them.
The suspects sped off with the hijacked vehicle, which was later recovered a few kilometers from the crime scene.
SAPS National Commissioner General Riah Phiyega said: "As the SAPS family, we are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleagues. We know that their abrupt and untimely passing has caused untold grief to their family members, close friends and colleagues. We remain united with them and we humbly seek solace and peace during this difficult time."
"We remain resolute in our endevours to fight crime and we will conduct round-the-clock investigations into all these incidents and bring those responsible to book. I earnestly appeal to our communities to join us in our efforts to bring an end to this brutality," urged General Phiyega.
We are appealing to whoever has any information on these incidents to immediately inform our police officers, either at their nearest police station or by calling Crime Stop on 08600 10111. Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated as strictly confidential.
Enquiries:
Lieutenant Solomon Makgale
Cell: 082 781 8863
