Pretoria - A total of 1501 police officers have been attacked in the 2014/2015 financial year, police said on Tuesday.
This is 329 more than the 2013/2014 financial year. In the 2014/2015 financial year, 86 police officers lost their lives which is nine more than the 2013/2014 reporting period.
“These numbers clearly reflect that there has been an increase in the attacks on and killing of our police officers,” said National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega.
She welcomed the lengthy sentence handed down to the three men for multiple murders and the speed at which a suspect in Mpumalanga was arrested.
These, she said, should serve as a lesson to any person who thinks that he/she can commit such heinous deeds and get away with it.
“In our quest for justice, we will search every nook and cranny to ensure that people such as these are penalised to the maximum.”
The South Gauteng High Court Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng last week collectively handed the three men, aged between 27 and 30, 21 life sentences and 415 years’ imprisonment.
The reign of terror of Vukani Ngcobo, Bonginkosi Fundakwezake and Qaphelani Chiyi first came to the fore when they killed two people at a tavern in Soweto in 2012.
The three men also killed Constables Lanah Rangani, Geoffrey Matlou and Sergeant Nkosinathi Mgimeti and robbed them of their official firearms.
The three police officers were shot and killed in Johannesburg in August and October 2012.
The fourth police official, Constable Philly Baloyi, survived the shooting
“Credit must go to the detective officers whose hard work and attention to detail played a crucial role in securing such hefty sentences,” said General Phiyega.
She also hoped that the families and colleagues of the victims will derive strength from the fact that those who inflicted this painful experience in their lives, have been jailed for a long time.
Phiyega went on to also acknowledge the speed at which a joint police team tracked and eventually arrested a suspect who had allegedly shot and killed a police officer in Mpumalanga, Constable Joseph Baloyi.
Constable Baloyi, aged 35, was shot at his place of residence last week.
Baloyi was investigating a killer who faced many charges, including house robbery, housebreaking and attempted murder. – SAnews.gov.za
