A police officer has been killed in a hail of bullets in Mfuleni, Cape Town on Sunday 12 January in the morning. Constable Ayanda Moyikwa(32) attached to the border control unit at the Cape Town International Airport was picking up his colleague around 5am in Gcuwa Street when the incident happened.
According to acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, the officer was trying to stop a robbery. It is alleged that a member of the community was robbed of a cellphone and a R100 in front of the officer who was waiting to fetch his colleague. The officer acted but he was gunned down, and his private VW vehicle was left bullet ridden. The colleague that officer Moyikwa was about to pick up heard the gunshots, but he didn’t know that it was his colleague who was being shot.
Mosikili visited the officer’s family and promised them that they would get the killers. Western Cape provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile said the are already hunting for the killers.
Family member Nkosincedile Mbolambi said they were shaken by the incident. “We didn’t expect this, we are heartbroken he had just left for work as usual. We were shaken to hear that he was brutally killed. The officer was set to celebrate his 33rd birthday on Friday 17 January as well as that of his two-year old child.
Residents from the street where the incident happened told Ezitshisayo that they heard gunshots and saw two men running away. The incident happened right in front of a spaza shop.
“We are in shock, and we are not safe in this kasi. When criminals brazenly kill officers, what about us ordinary residents. We are terrified as residents, we just hope that cops will find the killers and deal with them,” said a resident from Gcuwa Street.
Western Cape MEC of Police Oversight and Community Safety Anroux Marais has condemned the incident.
“The deceased constable was picking up a colleague for work when two people killed him and robbed him of his cell phone. My condolences go to his family and loved ones. This is a life cut short too soon. I ask all members of the public to assist the police so that the manhunt for his killers can be successful. This aggression against the police cannot stand,” Marius said.
WATCH: