Cop held over killing of colleague
A POLICEMAN and nine other men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a night duty officer at a Western Cape police station this week.
Several police weapons were also stolen during Wednesday night’s attack, which appears to have been an “inside job”.
The arrests follow quick work by members of the Hawks, who swooped on a shebeen outside Stellenbosch on Friday night.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut said one of the suspects was a 30-year-old colleague of the policeman who was killed. Warrant Officer Steven Britz was working alone at the Klapmuts police station when he was shot twice in the head.
He was due to have gone on holiday the following day.
Traut said the suspected policeman had been absent from the station since March.
“His fingerprint at the crime scene resulted in him being tracked by the investigation team at a shebeen in Kayamandi. Eight men who accompanied the suspect at the shebeen were also arrested for questioning in connection with the case and their possible involvement.
“Further investigation led to the arrest of another suspect, a 34-year-old man who we believe took possession of the stolen firearms, although the firearms are yet to be discovered. This suspect was arrested at another location, also in Kayamandi.”
The suspects are expected to appear in the Paarl Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
“The investigation into this case will remain a top priority for the Western Cape police, and we will not relax our efforts in any way,” Traut said.
A source close to the investigation said more arrests were expected.
Britz is survived by his wife, Lee Ann, and two sons.
His widow declined to speak to the Sunday Times yesterday.
However, a message posted on her Facebook page early on Saturday morning read: “Lighting my whole house full of candles for u my love. Boys missed doing easter hunt with you.”
The family was to have spent the Easter weekend in the small town of Redelinghuys in the west coast region of the Western Cape.
Rogue policemen within the police are a recurring problem: the issue came to the fore earlier this month thanks to an audit of criminality within the force.
According to the audit, 1 448 police officers had criminal records, including 140 from the Western Cape.
National Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said legal processes were under way to dismiss about 1 017 of these members.
Gauteng had the most “criminal” cops (325), followed by the Eastern Cape (275) and KwaZuluNatal (173).
The Klapmuts station is not the first to have been attacked.
In January, a mob of about 1 500 people hurled bricks and petrol bombs at a station in Tzaneen in Limpopo during a service delivery protest. Three protesters were killed, 15 officers injured and 19 police vehicles damaged.
A group of people also attacked a police station in Rustenburg, North West, in January after police refused to hand over two murder suspects.
Several years ago national police also began training private security guards to help in the battle against crime as part of a national pilot project.
Britz’s funeral will be held on Thursday in Brackenfell, Cape Town, at 11am.