Fatal shooting of SANDF member by a police sergeant
The DA in Limpopo welcomes the arrest of a police sergeant in connection with the murder of a member of the South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) outside the Hoedspruit police station on 26 January 2024.
It is alleged that the accused and the 33- year old soldier had a quarrel at a local tavern and was later fatally shot by the accused outside the police station shortly after he was refused assistance.
The accused will appear in the Hoedspruit Magistrates’ Court today on a charge of murder.
In a written reply dated 13 November 2023 to a DA parliamentary question Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, that 5489 police officers were arrested since 2019 and despite their arrests, 3981 of these officers are still in the employ of SAPS.
Some of these criminal charges against police officers include murder, rape, attempted murder, corruption and assault.
The lack of holding police officers accountable for crime illustrates the complete failure of management of SAPS by Minister Cele.
We are very concerned that the safety of our communities is entrusted to a SAPS riddled with duplicitous police officers.
The DA will closely follow the court proceedings in Hoedspruit to ensure that justice is served for the deceased and his family.
We will further request a detailed investigation into why the deceased was refused assistance at the police station minutes before his death.
