A 36-year-old man who was an admin clerk at the provincial police office in Mbombela was shot and killed yesterday afternoon along the R40 to Barberton, near the Kaapsehoop turn-off, in Mpumalanga.

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli says the man was in a vehicle with two of his colleagues and was about to leave Mbombela for Barberton when they picked up two men needing a lift near Westend Shopping Centre.

He says they were nearing the Kaapsehoop turn-off when the two men asked to be let out of the car.

It is reported that as the man slowed the vehicle, one of his colleagues saw one of the alleged robbers pull out a firearm. The colleague in the front managed to jump out of the car to avoid being shot, however, the admin clerk was shot in the upper body and died.

The second colleague, who was seated in the back with the two suspects, was reportedly not harmed in the incident.

The colleague who managed to jump out sustained minor injuries.

Mdhluli says the perpetrators allegedly robbed the three colleagues of some of their personal belongings, including a cellphone.

When the man who had jumped out of the car, he pulled out his firearm and fired a shot at the two, who they fled the scene, reportedly on foot.

He says a case of murder and robbery has been opened.

Man killed and women raped in Limpopo

In a separate incident last Friday, two men hitchhiking on the R71 to Polokwane allegedly shot a man and raped his passenger after attempting to take money out of her bank account.

Tzaneen police received a report of an alleged rape on the outskirts of Tzaneen, near the SAPS supply chain management offices.

At the scene, they found a 30-year-old woman who reported that she was travelling in a Suzuki Swift with a 44-year-old man. On the road next to the Sasol garage, they offered a lift to two men.

While travelling along Georges Valley road, one of the passengers allegedly asked the driver to stop and demanded that he pull up the handbrake.

“The driver refused to pull up the handbrake and one of the men produced a firearm and shot him point blank from the back. They then instructed the woman to move to the back seat, dumped the deceased on a gravel road, and drove with the woman towards town,” says SAPS spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.

He adds that they then robbed her of cash, bank cards, and cellphones and made cash transactions with their cards.

“They then drove into the bushes, raped her, and fled the scene in the car, leaving her behind,” says Ledwaba.

“The victim managed to walk until she reached the SAPS supply chain office where she reported the matter to the police. The car was later found burnt in the Letsitele area,” he adds.