MEC calls for swift arrest after traffic officer murdered
Her efforts to help her colleague as he was being robbed at gunpoint cost a provincial traffic officer her life as she was shot dead in her car during a routine roadblock along the R75 in KwaDwesi yesterday morning.
Transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha called on the police and community members to bring the culprits to book, and shared his condolences with the family of the slain official.
The 42-year-old traffic officer and two of her colleagues had been conducting a vehicle checkpoint on Uitenhage Road, between the Ziyabuya Shopping Centre and Joe Slovo.
At about 10.42am, one of the officials was standing in the road when he was approached by four men.
“The four suspects … pointed a firearm at him and took his official firearm,” police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said.
The woman traffic officer was seated in her vehicle at the time, busy with documentation, while her other colleague was nearby writing out a summons.
On seeing her colleague being accosted by the gunmen, she tried to react but they turned and fired a single shot at her, hitting her in the chest.
She died, still seated in her vehicle.
“The suspects then took her firearm as well before fleeing on foot,” Naidu said.
The other two officials were not injured.
The name of the deceased is being withheld until her next of kin has been notified.
A case of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances is under investigation.
Resident Sorina Bruwer said she was shocked by the news.
“We stopped and she asked for my dad’s licence. She was so friendly and talkative and still laughed with us. After we drove off, we all still commended her for being such a pleasant officer. I have yet to meet an officer like her,” Bruwer said.
Nqatha said he was saddened by the news and was deeply concerned about the potential repercussions.
“The brazenness of criminals to attack three uniformed officers while on duty, in broad daylight, is disturbing. And to make matters worse, there are now two more firearms in the hands of criminals.”
Nqatha said the police and residents needed to band together to ensure the swift arrest of the gunmen before they caused further harm to the community.