Condolences have poured in for the families of two police officers who were killed in two separate incidents on Friday evening.
Police say the cops were both robbed of their firearms while the Hawks have taken over the investigation to hunt their killers.
Meanwhile, Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato has condemned the brazen attacks which saw the off-duty officers killed in Delft and Khayelitsha and reminded the public that the R100 000 reward for information on police killers still stands.
DISTRAUGHT: Siyamcela's wife Lihlumile Ncipa in her Khayelitsha home. Photo: AYANDA NDAMANE/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY
“My sincerest condolences go out to the families of constables Lonwabo Kili and Siyamcela Ncipa, their friends and colleagues for their loss,” he said on Sunday.
“The murders of police officers for seemingly no other reason than to obtain their firearms were disgusting acts of criminality and had no place in society.
“It is for this reason that I remind the law-abiding residents in our communities that the Department of Community Safety’s
R100 000 reward still stands for anyone with information that will result in the arrest and successful conviction of cop killers in the Western Cape.”
Constable Kili, 30, stationed at Bellville South Police Station, was driving to pick up a friend, and on the corner of Sarah Baartman and Symphony Way in Delft, an unidentified suspect walked up to the car and shot him.
Constable Ncipa, 37, stationed in Mowbray, was visiting a friend in Site B, Khayelitsha, when he was shot twice in the head.
Kili was previously stationed at Delft SAPS, where he worked with the community policing forum, the neighbourhood watch and the block watches.
According to a colleague, who asked not to be named, Kili was popular and a very religious church brother.
“He was known for saying a prayer all the time,” the hartseer colleague says.
Police Minister Bheki Cele has expressed shock at
the murders.
DISTURBED: Western Cape Police Commissioner Lt Gen Khombinkosi Jula. Photo: AYANDA NDAMANE/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY
His spokesperson Reneilwe Serero said a 72-hour action plan had been issued by Cele to ensure the perpetrators were apprehended and brought to book and the stolen firearms recovered.
“Minister Bheki Cele passes his deepest condolences to the Kili and Ncipa families and strongly condemns these senseless killings of police officers. SAPS members are a national asset and they need to be protected by all of us, including community members, at all times,” Sereo said in a statement.
On Saturday, Western Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Khombinkosi Jula, met the two men’s families at the Delft SAPS.
POLICE VISIT: From left, Thozama Nkethe Ntombiziphele Gcokile and Siyamcela's wife Lihlumile Ncipa and Police commisioner Khombinkosi Jula. Photo: AYANDA NDAMANE/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY
“It is disturbing to observe that criminals have no regard for human life. Not even police officers are spared as they also fall prey to these attacks. Ours is to work around the clock to get to perpetrators,” said Jula.
The funeral services for both officers will be announced once final arrangements are made.