Durban - A Durban policeman spent time with his little boy before going on night shift, not knowing that it would be the last time they saw each other.
Sergeant Sandile Humphrey Mbhele was one of three KwaZulu-Natal police officers shot dead in the line of duty within a few hours of each other in two separate incidents.
In Harding, two policemen were burnt in their vehicle after coming under fire from robbers. A bystander rescued a woman officer from the burning car.
On Thursday night, Mbhele, 37, and officers from the KwaMashu Crime Prevention unit were raiding an illegal tavern in Xolani Road in the KwaMashu Men’s Hostel when they encountered resistance from hostile residents. During the fracas, Mbhele was shot in the head. He was taken to hospital where he died on arrival.
Police conducted follow-up operations and two suspects were taken in for questioning. They recovered three illegal firearms which will be sent for ballistic testing.
Paramedic Kyle van Reenen of Crisis Medical told in a post on Facebook how he tried to revive the injured KwaMashu officer: “Never nice to perform an unsuccessful resuscitation, but even more so when it is one of our brothers in blue. RIP member.”
Mbhele had been on night shift for a month after having been more desk bound, said Lorraine White, who runs Angels’ Desire preschool in Mariannridge attended by his 3-year-old son and his daughter, 9, who attends after care.
National police commissioner General Riah Phiyega arrived at the Mbhele home with provincial commissioner General Mmamonnye Ngobeni and a police chaplain. They entered singing a hymn before conducting an impromptu ceremony. Phiyega pledged the police would continue to support the family.
“There are many years to go and you will remain part of us,” she said to the new widow Sindile, making mention of the SA Police Education Trust.
The slain policeman’s cousin, Nokukhanya Gule said Mbhele, who was born and educated in Claremont, was a family man, took his profession responsibly and was “always there” for the community.
In the other incident, at about 9.30pm on Thursday three officers from the Harding police station responded to an alarm at a business in the town. An armed robbery was in progress. As the officers arrived, the robbers opened fire, setting the car alight. The robbers then fled.
Bystanders managed to rescue a woman officer but her two colleagues died. It was not clear at the time of publication whether they died in the fire or had been shot.
The dead policemen are Constable Mpendulo Welcome Jaca, 37, and Constable Zamukwanda Wiseman Majoka, 34.
Later Phiyega said: “Over the past 24 hours another three of our police colleagues have fallen at the hands of criminals. We are deeply saddened. I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to families, friends and colleagues. We will work tirelessly to arrest the perpetrators.”
Phiyega formed a multi-disciplinary team, including Crime Intelligence and the Hawks as soon as she heard of the attacks.
Ngobeni also condemned the killings. “It is always a great sadness to lose members. We send our deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of our late members. We are confident that our members will work tirelessly to arrest the perpetrators.”
Police statistics show 77 police officers were killed in the 2013/2014 financial year. In KwaZulu-Natal, several have come under fire, and been injured, since January.
DA spokeswoman on police Dianne Kohler Barnard said: “It’s a dangerous job to be a police officer in South Africa. It’s the worst thing to be the husband or wife of an officer and get that call to inform you of the news. We are hearing report after report of these incidents and it seems to be getting worse. We need more global training for our officers so that they are protected.”
Earlier this week, Pietermaritzburg Flying Squad officer Constable Dinesh Govender was shot by an armed gang in Eastwood. He is in ICU in hospital.
Alerted to a shop robbery, the Flying Squad responded, but, when the officers cornered the robbers, they opened fire. Police returned fire and Govender was wounded in the chest. The robbers fled.
In April, Inanda detectives, on their way home from work, spotted men acting suspiciously. The suspects fired at them, injuring an officer in the thigh. The suspects were found to have committed a business robbery where they tied up the security guards and stole cellphone batteries and two handsets.
In August last year, officers from Wills Road satellite police station in Durban responded to a robbery complaint. They were attacked and shot by unknown suspects who fled. Constable Zethu Cele, 29, died at the scene and her colleague was injured. Independent on Saturday