National Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s office has condemned the killings of police officers while on duty around the country. This follows the murder of a 38-year-old police constable in Nyanga on the Cape Flats on Monday.

A group of unknown men attacked the officer and his colleague while they were on a routine patrol on Monday night. The second officer is in a critical but stable condition in hospital. Two members of the public were also wounded in the shooting. The suspects are still at large.

Reports indicate that the men stole a service pistol from one of the policemen before fleeing. “This attack on police officers will not be tolerated and every endeavour will be made to bring those responsible to book,” police Captain Frederick Van Wyk said.

Mthethwa’s spokesperson Zweli Mnisi says they will continue to ask for support from the community to ensure that perpetrators of such acts are apprehended and severely punished. Mnisi says, “Whenever one police officer is killed, it must become a national crisis. In other counties if you kill a police officer, the community comes forward and deals with the issue.”

Last week, Gauteng police launched a manhunt after a Warrant Officer was shot and killed in Alberton on Gauteng’s East Rand. The officer was shot while waiting for his colleague in a car. The colleague was reportedly in a nearby building.

The police’s Lungelo Dlamini said one of the suspects suddenly pulled out a pistol and fired one shot which hit the policeman in the upper body. He said at the time, that they were not sure what triggered the shooting, but they believe the suspects were in the area to commit crime.
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