Photo: SAPS
Cele: 23 police officers killed between July and September
Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that 23 South African Police officers were killed between July to September 2021.
Photo: SAPS
The second quarter crime statistics recently revealed that 23 South African Police officers were killed between July and September 2021.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said six police officers were killed in KwaZulu-Natal, while four officers were killed in Gauteng and four officers killed in the Western Cape.
WHEN AND WHERE DID THESE MURDERS TAKE PLACE?
Here are some of the killings we reported on during this period:
On 1 July 2021, a police officer was shot and killed, while two other officers were injured as two alleged hijackers made their way to Lesotho.
On 12 July 2021, a police officer, EMPD Officer Meshack Mahlangu, had lost his life while seven other officers were injured while responding to violent protests, looting, and destruction in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
On 23 July 2021, a police officer was killed in a shooting with Cash in Transit (CIT) robbers in Brakpan. Two robbers were also killed in the gunfire exchange, while 19 others with explosives and firearms were arrested.
On 27 July 2021, Constable Simon Ngakaemang Ntsekeletsa (50) and Sergeant Mojalefa Horatius Molete (42) were found after they were brutally murdered. Their bodies were found in the back of a burnt police vehicle.
On 23 of August 2021, Sergeant Dastile attached to the Eastern Cape Provincial Organised Crime unit was following up on information on a business robbery, when two unknown suspects fatally shot him.
On 26 August 2021, two women officers, Sergeant Mogale and Sergeant Petjie, were attacked by unknown suspects at a shop in Tembisa, Ekhurhuleni and Mogale was tragically killed.
On 27 August 2021, Sergeant Ngcobo from the Richards Bay police station was shot and killed while driving in his state vehicle around the Nyanda area in KwaZulu-Natal. The officers’ service pistol, wallet and cellphone were stolen.
CELE CONFIDENT IN THE DECREASE IN CERTAIN CRIMES
“While the crime picture painted here today is not ideal, it is certainly getting better with time planning and deployment of resources, where they are needed most.
“The decreases in aggravated robberies including CITs, residential and non-residential robberies should give South Africans hope that the SAPS is making inroads in policing these crimes. Certainly, more can and WILL be done to ensure that South Africans are and feel safe,” Cele said.
