A POLICE officer was killed and another was kidnapped on Tuesday by a gang of five robbers at uMzinto on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.
According to a police source, who asked not to be named, Warrant Officer Sakhile Shabane, 47, and his female colleague were parked at Shayamoya in Umzinto on Tuesday at about 8pm.
“The police officers, who were off duty, were then approached by a gang of five men.
“In the ensuing fracas, two shots were fired with one hitting Shabane in his stomach.
“He died of his injuries.
“His colleague was shoved into the boot of her car. The suspects then drove her to an ATM in Umzinto where they forced her to withdraw R2000.
“They then took her to another ATM in eManzimtoti where they forced her to withdraw R3000. She was taken to the Shell Ultra City in Umgababa where they left her and made their getaway.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, police spokesperson, who said: “A case of murder, armed robbery, car hijacking and kidnapping was opened at Umzinto police station.”
Zwane added that the female officer was told not to look at the criminals’ faces or they would kill her family.
Earlier in the year, the Daily News reported that a police officer, Qhamuka Thomas Khwela, 37, of Brighton Beach police station, was killed when he and colleagues responded to a robbery in progress.
Acting national police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane, has condemned the attacks: “The fact that our members are attacked in the line of duty serves as a harsh reminder of the challenges our officers are faced with daily to ensure that South Africans are, and feel, safe.” - Additional reporting by ANA.