Man killed, cop wounded

A man was murdered and his uncle – an off-duty policeman – is in a critical condition after they were shot multiple times while travelling in a car, shortly after leaving a Motherwell tavern on Sunday night.

While the motive for the shooting remains unclear, police suspect it was either linked to a quarrel inside the tavern earlier that day, or was a deliberate attack on a police member – possibly a robbery for his firearm.

The warrant officer, 51, who is based at the Humewood police station and is not being named, is in a serious condition after being shot several times in the upper body.

His nephew, Mzwabantu Mnqojana, 34, who was driving the car, was pulled out of the vehicle and shot dead.

Police have implemented the 72-hour Activation Plan in a bid to track down the killers speedily.

During the attack, the warrant officer’s official state firearm was stolen.

Only when the forensic results are completed, will it be known if the firearm he was carrying was used to shoot them.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the two were gunned down inside a Datsun car in Xhama Street at about 10.45pm on Sunday.

“While the motive for the attack is not yet established, it is suspected that the police officer and his nephew were at a tavern in Motherwell when an argument broke out between some patrons and themselves.

“They decided to leave and, as they were driving in Xhama Street, they heard a noise under the vehicle,” Naidoo said.

“When they stopped [to investigate], they were accosted by a group of unidentified men who pulled them out of the vehicle and shot them.”

The fight had erupted at the Qunu Tavern, in the same street where the policeman and his nephew were attacked.

Police suspect that about five men were involved.

They said the Datsun had been impounded.

National commissioner General Khehla Sitole has condemned the shooting, calling it a cruel and callous attack on an off-duty police member.

The Eastern Cape Organised Crime Investigation Unit has taken over the murder, attempted murder and armed robbery investigation.

Police have appealed to anyone with information to contact unit commander Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Grobler on 082-442-1825.