Pretoria- “I’m very proud of him as a person and I have a lot of respect for the South African Police Service (SAPS).”
These weere the words of Warrant Officer Norman John’s daughter Charmaine. Warrant officer John lost his life when he was shot at the Pinetown police station in KwaZulu-Natal on 11 October 2014.
John was among the 63 police officers killed in the line of duty between April 2014 and March 2015.
The warrant officer was among the slain women and men in blue who were honoured at the SAPS Commemoration Day at the Union Buildings on Sunday.
President Jacob Zuma paid tribute to officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
John's daughter says the family misses him a lot. “I don’t know, I feel like I’m still stuck in last year and I hide my feelings from my family because I want to stay strong for them. It’s just my mother and brother now and we are trying. One thing is for sure, you don’t ever move on, you just live."
The SAPS has renders support to the family since the death of Warrant Officer John.
“Yes they do call us, they are like family to us,” she said.
Like Charmaine, Catherine Mbatha lost a loved one when her son Constable Sabelo Sibisi died in the line of duty in a car accident in June 2014 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mbatha said when she received the news of her son’s passing, it hurt her very much.
“I loved him very much. He was a good person and he was always smiling,” she says adding that she now feels better following the commemoration day service.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Zuma paid tribute to the fallen officers saying that they perform their duties under difficult conditions.
“Today we pay tribute and register our respect to fallen police officers who undertake the important task of fighting crime and defending our hard won democracy under taxing conditions. We wish to express our heartfelt condolences today directly to the families, on behalf of all the people of our country,” said President Zuma.
The President further noted that most of the police officers who were killed were the breadwinners of their families.
He said that through the SAPS Education Trust, the children of fallen officers should be able to complete their education.
To date, the Trust has invested almost R900 000 on 33 beneficiaries registered at universities, universities of technology as well as further education and vocational training colleges. There are also four beneficiaries who are still in high school.
The President also called on police officers to defend themselves with everything at their disposal if they are attacked. This however should be within the confines of the law.
“Criminals must know that our police officers are not sitting ducks. They will fight back when their lives or those of the public are in danger,” said President Zuma.-SAnews.gov.za
