Month: April 2022

GAUTENG – On Friday 29 April 2022 at about 22:00, what started as an ordinary routine patrol soon changed to a shootout with suspects that had hijacked a Mercedes Benz SUV with three occupants in Katlehong, Kwanele Section. The police officers rescued the hijacked victims and arrested one suspect.

The police noticed two vehicles, a Toyota Etios and the Mercedes Benz parked on the side of the road. When the members approached the stationary vehicles, they were met with shots that were fired by the occupants of the Etios. The members returned fire and the suspects in the Etios sped off leaving their accomplice behind.

Upon questioning the occupants in the Mercedes Benz, the police realised that they have just intercepted a hijacking in progress.

The victims told the police that they had been held there by four armed men demanding pin codes for their bank cards.

Unfortunately during shooting, the young man was shot on the hip. He was taken to hospital for medical attention. The police are following leads to apprehend the suspects that fled the scene.

The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has commended the members involved in rescuing the victims.

“These members were vigilant as expected of any operationally ready member on duty. Their conduct and approach to a potentially risky situation has resulted in three victims of hijacking being rescued before the incident was even reported to the police,” said Lieutenant General Mawela who went on to explain how kidnappings and hijackings have been a challenge that Gauteng Province’s operational plan has been mitigating in recent months through strategic deployments and stop and search operations.

The arrested 27-year-old suspect will be charged with possession of hijacked motor vehicle and attempted murder. He is expected to appear before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 3 May 2022.

Source: South African Police Service

DURBAN – On 26 April 2022 at 16:30, the Umlazi police officers were conducting stop and search duties on Griffiths Mxenge Highway when they noticed a bakkie that was blocking the road. Police then approached the driver and requested to search the vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle a 9mm pistol was recovered. The 47-year-old Zamuxolo Jama was arrested for possession and detained at Umlazi SAPS. He appeared at the Umlazi Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

In another incident, a multi-disciplinary operation was conducted at Avoca hills where police officers followed up on information that led to the arrest of a 41-year-old man on Duffs Road in Avoca Hills at 00:30. He was found in possession of a shotgun, a 9mm pistol and 192 rounds of ammunition. He appeared before the Durban Magistrates Court.

Source: South African Police Service

NELSPRUIT – The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has applauded members for their resilience in fighting crime, specifically in tackling the proliferation of firearms. This comes after the recovery of a pistol as well as the arrest of a woman, aged 32 on charges of being in possession of a firearm with ammunition at Phola on Friday, 29 April 2022.

Reports indicate that members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Tracing Team were busy with their probe of a certain criminal case whereby information was gathered regarding a firearm and ammunition. The details were then followed and the investigation led the members into a house at Phola. Upon their arrival, they found a female and then conducted a search inside the house where a 9mm pistol with ammunition was discovered. The lady was not in possession of a licence for the firearm hence she was arrested and charged accordingly.

The female suspect is expected to appear in the Ogies Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 03 May 2022 facing a charge of possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Meanwhile the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela reiterated that police will continue to remove all illegal firearms that are in circulation within the society as long as they can hear of such information. “Our members are like an oiled machine and well determined to ensure that the trust is maintained between the police and our communities in the fight against crime. We therefore encourage the public to tell us of any person who is in possession of a firearm (s) illegally. We will not hesitate to act swiftly and remove such firearms” assured the General.

Source: South African Police Service

The Police Ministry together with the management of the South African Police Service this week hosted three community engagements in Gauteng, Eastern Cape and the Free State provinces. The crime prevention Izimbizo saw community members put forward their crime concerns and gave the SAPS and other concerned role players an opportunity to outline immediate and long term interventions to address their safety needs.

The first stop for the three day Imbizo tour was in Soweto Gauteng, where residents of Pimville and other areas around the Kliptown policing precinct converged at the Pimville community centre on Thursday 28 April 2022, to participate in the Imbizo led by the Police Minister General Bheki Cele.

The community meeting was attended by MEC of community safety Faith Mazibuko, Johannesburg Mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse with members of her executive, officials from the Johannesburg Metro police department and various stakeholders from the city of Johannesburg and department of Home Affairs. Community members sharply raised cable theft as a major crime concern.

Two weeks ago, Pimville resident Khomotso Diale was gunned down during a cable theft related shooting incident that resulted in the injury of five others at Chicken Farm informal settlement.

Police have arrested two people for the murder and attempted murders.

The Pimville community meeting saw the SAPS commit to intensifying dedicated intelligence led operations, to counter theft of critical infrastructure.

Added to this, ten more police vehicles have been added to the Kliptown police station’s existing fleet, this will assist plans by the local police to increase police visibility in the area and step up disruptive crime prevention operations to deal with the illegal trade of copper and improve overall policing of other crimes.

Some residents called for the informal settlements in and around the Kliptown area, including Chicken Farm where Diale was killed, to be demolished, some believe the informal settlements serve as breeding grounds for undocumented foreign nationals who are alleged to be involved in cable theft and other crimes.

Minister Cele urged Pimville residents to work with police to address crime.

“We heard you as residents of Pimville and as government we are responding in an integrated manner, not just from the SAPS but from all stakeholders that can address your concerns effectively, including Home affairs to deal with the issue of emigration and the city of Johannesburg to look into the mushrooming settlements you are complaining about. I do however wish to remind you as the community that while you have the right to mobilise, this must be done within the ambit of the law and the police service is on hand to enforce the law and deal with criminality, regardless of nationality, race or creed.” said Cele.

On Friday, 29 April 2022, the Ministerial Crime Prevention Imbizo made its way to the Eastern Cape. Gender Based Violence and Femicide was high on the agenda for many residents of Lusikisiki who came out in their numbers for the Ministerial engagement.

The local police station has reported the highest incidents of rape, as indicated in the third quarter National Crime Statistics of 2021/2022.

This GBVF Imbizo saw residents demand better service delivery from the police station, especially to victims and survivors of GBV.

To address this, the station will have five additional police vehicles to augment the stations vehicle fleet and assist in improving police response time and at the same time heighten police visibility.

The Lusikisiki area which boasts a population of over 200 thousand people, has a GBVF Combat Team established to manage and encourage public private partnerships in the fight against GBV and Femicide.

This intervention forms part of the provinces policing intervention Operation Sikhona which aims to strengthen and improve community safety and security through disruptive operations which are being intensified in identified areas with high crimes rates.

Meanwhile, the Lusikisiki police station has a GBV desk to exclusively attend to victims and survivors of sexual crimes, victim friendly services are available at all 199 police stations in the Eastern Cape province, with Victim Friendly Rooms available in 160 of those stations.

The three day Imbizo roadshow concluded in Botshabelo in the Free State on Saturday 30 April 2022, where the Minister of police assured residents of ongoing efforts by the SAPS to improve their services to this community, through strengthening policing capacity and shifting resources to address high in incidents of Gender Based Violence, contact crimes and stock theft.

The Imbizo is a follow-up from the Presidential Imbizo hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the 9th of April 2022 in the same area.

The Police Ministry is encouraged by the intergovernmental coordination approach between departments, at all the crime prevention community meetings this week. The Ministry is optimistic this approach will rebuild relations between police and communities and at the same time improve overall public confidence in government.

Source: South African Police Service