Outrage at news of officers’ deaths and call for ‘speedy justice to prevail’
SOUTH African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Khehla John Sitole has expressed shock at the deaths of two SAPS officers, after an alleged drunk driver smashed into them in Deneysville in the Free State on Friday night.
The two officers, a warrant officer and a sergeant of the Deneysville SAPS, were on duty at about 8.15pm on the R594 inspecting a truck under the Covid-19 regulations when they were killed, Sitole’s spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said in a statement on Saturday.
The driver of a 1400 bakkie, who was allegedly heavily under the influence of alcohol, hit both policemen, despite them wearing reflector jackets, he said.
Sitole expressed outrage at the news of the officers’ deaths and called for “speedy justice to prevail in this matter”.
“The untimely passing of our two colleagues is indeed a bitter pill to swallow. We trust that the man allegedly responsible for their deaths, and who is currently behind bars, will be served with a deserving punishment if convicted,” Sitole said in the statement.
He had expressed his condolences to the families of both officers and directed that the Free State police commissioner render all the necessary support to the bereaved families.
“The driver of the LDV (bakkie) is in police custody and he is likely to face charges of culpable homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as contravention of the regulations of the Disaster Management Act in that he failed to remain in his house during the lockdown,” Naidoo said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
