This now brings the tally of officers killed in this incident to two, after the initial police report yesterday reported that one officer was killed. In a joint media release this morning, the Police Ministry’s spokesperson, Mathapelo Peters, and the National Hawks’ spokesperson, Hangwani Mulaudzi, described the incident as a momentous loss. Mulaudzi says Detective Warrant Officer Delene Grobbelaar (44) was fatally shot during the suspects’ attempted escape, and Detective Sergeant Wynand Herbst (42) was also shot by suspects at a filling station in Coligny near Lichtenburg after he tracked them. Mulaudzi says three suspects were killed while two were seriously injured. A further two suspects, however, were traced to Ventersdorp near Klerksdorp but managed to escape. Three police officers have so far been killed in the space of at least 23 days. 

"During the gun-battle, three of the gang members were shot dead and four others arrested. The hunt for the remaining suspects has been intensified and the National Commissioner has ordered all police tracing teams to leave no stone unturned to bring these murderous perpetrators to justice,” Malaudzi said. It is alleged that on Thursday, the Special Task Force members engaged suspects around Mahikeng who were travelling in three vehicles. “The armed gang had shot and forced the cash van off the road. The suspects were confronted as they blew open the van.

The suspects retaliated and took off in different directions. In their attempt to escape, two of the vehicles faced off with members from the Technical Operations Management Section (TOMS) DPCI, he said. 

Mulaudzi says later in the day, one suspect was tracked and arrested at a Johannesburg hospital and immediately thereafter a follow-up operation was launched in Coligny where the wanted suspects were confronted at a filling station by TOMS members. He says so far, three AK47 rifles, two 9mm pistols, a bakkie, and a minibus have been seized.

The National Head of the DPCI, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, expressed his sincere condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the beloved members. 

Peters, from the police minister Bheki Cele’s office, says he expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families and colleagues of the two deceased members. She says Cele indicated that the apprehension of the five suspects, with three fatally shot and two injured, can only bring cold comfort to those who lived and worked with the slain members. We are, however, hoping that it will bring some kind of closure to the bereaved families," the Minister lamented. Peters says Cele has also commended the rapid response by members of the Hawks and the Special Task Force and has urged the tracing and investigating teams to leave no stone unturned in their effort to find the remaining suspects.

OFM News