Durban - The latest officer to fall victim while at work is Mzwandile Dinga, 38, of eMdloti, on July 28.
The father of four and a colleague were carrying out speed enforcement on Dumisani Makhaye Highway when they stopped a motorist.
The three occupants of the vehicle got out and held the officers at gunpoint before firing at Dinga, wounding him in the left arm and chest. They then disappeared.
Dinga later died in hospital.
To date, said his wife, Ningi, 38, all she had received was a letter from the department extending its condolences. “I paid for the funeral. There was no pledge to assist me with the costs, even though my husband died on the job,” she said on Monday.
She said she supported the action, but had her own “personal priorities” to deal with.
“I have to care for my children. They are in pain. I’m in pain. We will deal with this in time.”
She added: “There’s just so much to do because he died so suddenly. We have to get over that shock first.”
Ningi said her husband had loved his work, and was good at it, which made the department’s reluctance to get involved financially a more bitter pill to swallow.
“I know his colleagues organised a memorial for him and a motor cavalcade for his funeral. I don’t know if the department was involved there or not.”
In response, KZN Department of Transport spokesman, Nathi Sukazi, said: “The same applies; they are all policy matters.”
Daily News