Pretoria - Hardly a month after President Cyril Ramaphosa commemorated the death of 34 police officers who died in the line of duty, news broke that another one was shot dead in Mabopane on Friday.
Three other police officers were wounded, said national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
The officers were conducting crime prevention patrols when they stopped a suspicious maroon VW Golf and ordered the driver to produce his licence, but four other occupants inside the vehicle started shooting at them.
Sergeant Holeng Makobe died on the spot, while the three others were rushed to hospital. Investigators discovered that two police officers’ firearms were missing.
Mathe said Mokobe had been with the SAPS for 15 years and left behind two children.
Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili said the SAPS leadership was concerned about the rate of police deaths.Mathe mirrored Mosikili’s concerns about the number of officers killed on duty. “Management has urged members to act first when they have to use force proportional to the threat,” Mathe said.
Deadly attacks on police officers are on the rise. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said criminals show little to no regard for police officers. “Such elements should not be allowed to roam our streets but be behind bars.”
Pretoria News