Man arrested for shooting of cop
ANOTHER INCIDENT HAPPENED WITHIN HOURS Suspect faces charges of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery.
Police in Limpopo have made a breakthrough in the killing of Lieutenant-Colonel Phineas Marubhini Mamatshiari, who was shot on Sunday when he returned home from duty in Thohoyandou.
“Yesterday, a police special task team arrested a 32-year-old man and recovered a firearm in connection with Mamatshiari’s murder,” police said.
The suspect, according to preliminary investigations, is also linked to the attempted murder of a police constable who was shot and seriously injured in the Vuwani area within hours of Mamatshiari being killed.
According to police, the two incidents occurred between 8.45pm on Saturday and 00.45am on Sunday in Dzwerani, near Vuwani, outside Thohoyandou.
Police spokesperson in Limpopo Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said Mamatshiari arrived at his Dzwerani house from work when he was attacked by a group of men. Ngoepe said police were called to the scene and mobilised other stations in an effort to locate the gunmen.
“However, while busy searching for the suspects, we received reports that the same suspects had attacked security guards from Mpheni, Watervaal, Mbhokota and Bungeni clinics.
“At the scene, four firearms were taken from the security guards,” said Ngoepe, adding that the same group of suspects was later spotted near the gates of the University of Venda in the early hours of the following morning.
“The suspects were spotted and a motor vehicle chase ensued in which shots were exchanged between police and the suspects. In the process, a constable attached to the public order police unit was shot and seriously wounded.
“We are currently working round the clock in our quest to locate these criminals and bring them to book.
“Our provincial commissioner has established a special task team comprising the crime intelligence unit and provincial and local detectives in an effort to locate and arrest the [remaining] perpetrators.”
The Limpopo provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba condemned in the strongest possible terms the killing of police officers in Limpopo and elsewhere, saying the killings were an “act of the devil and an attack on the state”.
“The police cannot afford to lose its members due to the act of criminality by unscrupulous individuals who want to turn this province into a banana republic,” said Ledwaba.
The arrested suspect will appear before the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court soon to face charges of murder, attempted murder and four counts of armed robbery. –
... an act of the devil and an attack on the state