[VIDEO] Men in blue under fire: Cele criticised after 2 SAPS officers killed
NO MERCY: Cops in the W. Cape being gunned down by brazen skelms
It was a blue Monday for members of the SAPS, following the news that two officers were killed after four others were shot and wounded.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa confirmed that two off-duty sergeants were shot dead in separate incidents in Khayelitsha on Sunday.
She said provincial police are in shock after the brazen attacks on their colleagues.
“In one incident, a 36-year-old police sergeant based at the Elsies River Police Station was driving in Solomon Tshuku Street in Site C, at approximately 5.30pm, when a gunman approached the vehicle he was driving and fired several shots at the driver.
“He was rushed to hospital where he later died.”
Potelwa said 30 minutes later, another sergeant was shot while he was with friends at Mandela Park.
“The incident is suspected to be robbery related. The police sergeant was working at Nyanga SAPS.”
Acting provincial commissioner Bongani Maqashalala said the SAPS are devastated by the deaths.
“The two police officials were in the prime of their lives. They still had a lot to offer,” he explained.
“As the management of SAPS we will continue to keep the bereaved families in our thoughts and prayers.”
Two murder dockets have been opened for investigation, with no arrests yet, Potelwa says.
On Monday, the policing community was further rocked when four members were shot and injured during a heist in Nyanga.
The skelms allegedly robbed a business inside the Junction Shopping Mall and while fleeing, the cops arrived in the parking lot.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said the suspects opened fire on the officers.
These incidents sparked criticism from Action Society, and the civil group has challenged Police Minister Bheki Cele to step in.
Cele, who recently wrapped up a five-day visit to China, was criticised by Action Society chairperson Ian Cameron for “wasting taxpayers’ money, while the men and women in blue are under-resourced and under-trained”.
“Get the basics right, instead of wasting tax money, running around in China looking for drones and cameras. Start resourcing the cops on the ground, give them relevant training, resources to do their jobs,” Cameron says.
“In the past week, cops were killed in the line of duty or off-duty, that’s your legacy.
“You can’t get the basics right and if you can’t do that, we can’t expect drones and cameras to solve the issues we face.”