A Cape Town metro police officer has been served with a suspension notice, amid an investigation into a fatal hit-and-run incident in Athlone earlier this month.
This follows the death of 21-year-old Imtiyaaz Firfirey, who was hit by a vehicle on Jan Smuts Drive on 18 April. According to reports, Firfirey was reported missing at the time, and his family later identified him at a state mortuary. Athlone police had initially registered a case of culpable homicide for further investigation.
“The incident happened on Jan Smuts Drive on Saturday, 2026-04-18. The driver is an off-duty Metro police member. The driver left the scene and did not report the incident at any police station. The suspected vehicle was recovered and processed by [the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory],” said Western Cape police spokesperson, Captain F.C. Van Wyk.
A 25-year-old metro police officer, Naeema Daniels, and 54-year-old Nadia Daniels (said to be Naeema’s mother) were arrested on Monday and appeared in court the following day. Naeema is believed to have been driving the vehicle, while Nadia is said to have been a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
“Two adult females were arrested and appeared in the Athlone Magistrates’ court on Tuesday, 28 April 2026,” said Western Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg.
Naeema faces charges including failure to report an accident, failure to ascertain the nature and extent of any damages sustained, failure to render assistance, failure to ascertain the nature of the injury, and failure to immediately stop. She was reportedly released on R4,000 bail and is due to return to court on 24 July.
Nadia was reportedly charged with defeating the ends of justice and released on a warning.
Metro Police spokesperson, Ruth Solomons, confirmed the arrest of the officer, adding that she was off duty at the time of the incident.
She noted that the Metro Police Department will cooperate with police “where needed, to finalise the matter”.
“The City has zero tolerance for conduct unbecoming – the officer was served with a suspension notice following her court appearance on Tuesday,” said Solomons.
