The KZN SAPS Commissioner’s Golf Day was hosted at the Kloof Country Club on Thursday (October 15) to raise funds for the children of police officers who died in the line of duty.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi went “toe-to-toe” with guests during the golf day, which culminated in a gala dinner “where the pledges, sponsorships and donations” were “consolidated”.

“The Golf Day raises funds to educate children of police officers who died in the line of duty. This year, 20 children from KwaZulu-Natal will be beneficiaries of the South African Police Service Education Trust [SAPSET],” said Netshiunda.

Meanwhile, according  information recorded by the SAPS, during the 2025/2026 financial year, starting from April 1, 2025, to March 13, 2026, no SAPS members were murdered while on duty in KZN.

However, during the same period, a total of 11 members of the SAPS were murdered, with Gauteng recording the highest number of seven, followed by Mpumalanga with two, and the Free State and Head Office recording one each.

During the 2024/2025 financial year, staring from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, a total of 20 SAPS members were murdered while on duty, with four recorded in KZN, and another four in the Eastern Cape, with three recorded in the Free State and another three in the Western Cape. During that period, Gauteng and Limpopo recorded two murders each, and Mpumalanga and the North West recorded one each.

During SAPS Commemoration Day held at the Union Buildings in September, President Cyril Ramaphosa described the day “as a national convenant  of remembrance, accountability and renewal – a commitment to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to stand with the families they left behind”.

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“This year, we remember 12 members who lost their lives in the line of duty during the last financial year. Nine of these members were from Gauteng, with one each from the North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga,” said Ramaphosa.

The annual commemoration is held on the first Sunday of September to remember police officers who died in the line of duty during the preceding 12 months.

“Behind every police killing is a family story that has been permanently rewritten. The circumstance of these deaths should concern us deeply.

“Today we remember them not as statistics but as sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, colleagues and friends who went to work to protect their fellow South Africans and never returned home,” said the president.

On the day, the names of the police officers who were remembered were added to the Roll of Honour.

Since its establishment in 2010, the SAPSET has supported 2 215 children of fallen police officers, with more than R25m raised through sponsorships.

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