Family of slain cop search for answers
Khayelitsha police officer killed in line of duty
FAMILY of slain Khayelitsha police officer, Constable Ncedo Katoyi, said they have unanswered questions surrounding the murder. His sister, Nombulelo Katoyi said the family had not yet come to terms with her brother’s murder.
“We are still struggling a lot. We wish that the perpetrators can be arrested and for justice to take its course. We want to know why they targeted him. Was he at the wrong place at the wrong time? We have a lot of unanswered questions,” she said.
Katoyi, 39, was shot dead after police came under fire when they responded to a complaint in the Site C area. He and a fellow officer were responding to a complaint. Six men fired shots at the officers and fled with Katoyi’s pistol. He died at the scene.
“He was not someone who offended or harmed others. Police murders at the end of the day affect the families of the deceased,” she sobbed. “He was a good person, loved having fun and very humble.”
Katoyi is survived by his wife Ntombothando Katoyi and his three children, aged 15 to 1 years old.
His mother is in Cofimvaba, in the Eastern Cape, where the family said he will be buried on Saturday, April 21.“He was the first-born child and only son, from his mother’s side. His mother is in a bad state as we speak.”
Katoyi grew up with a passion for protecting civilians, his sister said.
“He always wanted to be in the police. Before he joined the service, 11 years ago, he worked as a security guard. He was always a pillar for his family, was responsible for his wife and children and mother too.
“We are indeed losing a breadwinner. He was a brother, a friend, a father and husband. He was everything to us,” she wept.
Katoyi is the first police officer to be killed on duty since the last incident in November 2016.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said in the 2017/2018 financial year there had been seven attacks on police in the province. She said the cases and investigations were ongoing.
Dan Plato MEC for Community Safety condemned police murders.
“It is for this reason that I remind the law-abiding residents in our communities that the Department of Community Safety’s R100 000 reward still stands for anyone with information that will result in the arrest and successful conviction of cop killers in the Western Cape”.