SAPS national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola says that how three police officers were shot in two separate incidents over the weekend clearly shows that the shooters have been well-trained in handling firearms.
“In both instances, you can see that the criminals are well-trained in the use of firearms because they shot in the head. Even [in the incident of] Sgt Lawrence Mtsweni, they shot him in the head.
“You can just imagine shooting in the head in darkness and finding where the head is ... this shows we are dealing with somebody who knows what he’s doing,” said Masemola.
“So, members of SAPS going out there looking for them, be careful and know what you are dealing with. Let’s not get discouraged, let’s go out then and hunt them [criminals] and show them we are in charge,” said Masemola.
He was speaking during a visit to Mtsweni’s family in Mpumalanga yesterday.
Mtsweni was among a group of police officers who were responding to a business robbery at Usave shopping centre at Schoemansdal when he was shot on Saturday morning.
On Friday, WO Vuyisile Sintwa, 51, a detective attached to the Johannesburg Trio Task Team and Sgt Simon Masenye, 45 died after being shot, allegedly by Zimbabwean national Thabang Moyo. At the time of the murder, they were transporting him from the Roodepoort magistrate’s court.
According to police, in the past financial year, 27 officers died in the line of duty.
Since April, six more officers have been killed in criminal attacks and ambushes. One suspect has been arrested for Mtsweni’s murder.
Masemola said this was not the time for the men in blue to cry but rather to deal with “these criminals decisively so”.
Mtsweni’s son, Nkosinenhlanhla Mtsweni, said he was a loving and funny father.
“The last time I saw and spoke to my father was when he asked me to polish his boots. It’s hurting for all of us as a family. My father was a loving person who also made sure we were happy, and he was really funny to us as his children,” the heartbroken Nkosinenhlanhla said.
Police unions have condemned the recent deadly attacks on officers, saying if the same officers who risk their lives to protect citizens are not safe, then the fight against crime is severely compromised.
The loss of three officers since Friday is not just a statistic, it is a reflection of the dangerous conditions under which our members operate daily and it leaves lasting scars on their families, colleagues and society at large
— Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesperson Richard Mamabolo
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the continuous killing of police officers was a deeply concerning and painful reality for the union.
“The loss of three officers since Friday is not just a statistic, it is a reflection of the dangerous conditions under which our members operate daily and it leaves lasting scars on their families, colleagues and society at large,” said Mamabolo.
According to the SA Police Union national spokesperson, Lesiba Thobakgale, there was “no political will” to declare police killings as treason.
“Police officers are representing the state, and the state must take measures to protect the protectors, as an attack on police or law enforcement officers is an attack on the state.”
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