NATIONAL NEWS - Police Minister Bheki Cele has vowed that law enforcement will serve justice to the families of the two Kraaifontein police officers fatally attacked while on duty at the weekend.
Cele made the commitment on Tuesday while visiting the families of Sergeant Mnakwazo Mdoko and Constable Mninawa Breakfast. The killings brought to 10 the number of police officers killed in the last two weeks.
The two were ambushed, shot and killed in the early hours of Saturday morning while conducting patrols in the area.
“They were just doing their job, they were just patrolling and making sure that the community is safe. There is a trend that is developing around shebeens… people begin to resist and think that they can work outside of the law,” Cele told reporters.
He revealed that police have taken in four people for questioning but only one has been charged. A 32-year-old appeared in court in the Western Cape on Tuesday morning.
The Minister last week raised concern that crime levels are scaling shocking levels in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“[The suspect] will appear again on 9 March. There are several things we believe will link us to the correct person. He has a bloodied T-shirt that we will take for DNA [testing]. The cellphone of the 28-year-old [officer] was found on the man that appeared in court,” he said.
The attacks come amid a string of gang related killings in the Western Cape. Cele on Tuesday also conducted an oversight visit to Kraaifontein and the Mitchells Plain SAPS following a spate of killings. – SAnews.gov.za
