SAPS Bheki Cele alcohol heritage day level 1

Photo: GCIS

Police ‘under siege’ by criminals ‘hellbent on terrorising’ – Cele

Gunmen have shot and killed four KwaZulu-Natal policemen in separate incidents over the past week.

SAPS Bheki Cele alcohol heritage day level 1

Photo: GCIS

Police Minister Bheki Cele has condemned the brutal killing of policemen after gunmen brutally shot and killed a further two officers in KwaZulu-Natal.

A total of four police officers have been killed in the province over the past week.

Cele visited the province following the brutal murder of the policemen, which included two officers who were gunned down over the weekend. 

On duty KZN policemen ambushed and killed

Unknown gunmen ambushed and killed Sergeant Makhosaze  Mdlangathi and Sergeant Mfikelwa Mtolo who were stationed at the Plessislaer and Richmond Police Stations in Taylors Halt in the Umngungundlovu District.

Constable Royal Mfihloyakhe Ndlovu was killed while on duty on  February 18 after he responded to a domestic violence complaint in Chatsworth.  Ndlovu, 44,  was shot in the chest when he entered the complainants home. He died at the scene.

Constable Mbuso Nzimela was assaulted and stabbed to death on February 21. 

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation is investigating the motives for these murders. No arrests have been made.

Cele believes police are under siege in the province.

“We can’t have four of our officers in a mortuary and that is treated as normal, whether they are on or off duty, it is clear they are targeted by criminals who are hellbent on terrorising society,” Cele said.

“It is also very worrying that these attacks occur mostly in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape provinces and we want to appeal to communities to continue to assist police with any information that can track down these killers and bring them to book.”

Cele earlier visited the scene of the family massacre in Eshowe where a suspect armed with a pistol killed six family members aged between 8 and 70 years old. He praised the police for making an arrest in connection with the case.