A SAPS team in Knysna are receiving psychosocial support after their colleague, a 50-year-old police captain attached to the provincial Tactical Response Team (TRT), was shot and killed on Wednesday morning.
Members of the TRT were following up on information related to illegal firearms at the Sewende Laan informal settlement on Uniondale Road at the time. A shootout ensued, and the captain, as well as a 38-year-old suspect, died on the scene.
The police captain was in Knysna investigating the recent murders of former mayor Aubrey Tsengwa and two others: former Knysna councillor, Mandla Matiwane and Mandla Tyololo.
ALSO READ: Two arrests following murder of former Knysna mayor Aubrey Tsengwa – Smile 90.4FM
“Western Cape police are reeling from shock following the killing of a police captain and a suspect in a shootout during an operation in Knysna in the early hours of Wednesday morning… Western Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lt General Sizakhele Dyantyi has conveyed condolences to the family and colleagues of the departed police official,” said Brigadier Novela Potelwa, a spokesperson for the Western Cape SAPS.
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) noted that recent developments in the Southern Cape town are deeply concerning. Spokesperson Mluleki Mbhele said it warrants an urgent response from authorities.
“The growing pattern of targeted killings, coupled with the murder of a police officer involved in the subsequent investigation, demands an uncompromising response from the State. Criminals must never be allowed to create an environment in which investigators themselves become targets simply because they are closing in on those responsible for serious crimes.”
Just a day before the latest killing, the office of Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia advised that the Minister had visited Knysna to be briefed on the investigation into last week’s murders.
He met with the families of Mr Tsengwa, Mr Tyololo and Mr Matiwane, and commended the investigative teams for the progress made in the case.
“The progress made in these investigations demonstrates that the police are pursuing every available lead. We must ensure that those responsible for these murders are brought to justice. My visit to these families was not only to convey my condolences, but to assure them that the State has a responsibility to pursue justice. We owe it to the families and to the people of Knysna to ensure that these investigations receive the attention and resources they require,” said Cachalia in a statement.
Now, POPCRU is reiterating its demand for safer working conditions for all police officers and greater responsibility for those involved in attacks on police.
Mbhele said the incidents in Knysna are even more reason to urgently strengthen specialised police units, especially those tasked with “high-risk murder investigations”.
“POPCRU calls upon the SAPS national and Western Cape provincial leadership to ensure that the investigation into the killing of our colleague is pursued with the same urgency as the broader Knysna murder investigations. Every person directly or indirectly involved must be identified and brought before the courts… One police officer killed is one too many,” said Mbhele.
Mbhele has, at the same time, urged the Knysna community to work with detectives to help crack down on the criminal networks operating there.
“Criminal networks survive when fear silences communities. The State must simultaneously ensure that witnesses and informants who come forward are adequately protected.”
