Less than 24 hours after two police officers were killed in Roodepoort on Friday, a police officer in Mpumalanga was shot and killed in an apparent ambush by robbers.

National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola has offered two rewards, of R150 000 each, for information on either case.

18-year veteran officer killed responding to call

In the most recent incident, Sergeant Lawrence Dumisani Mtshweni (47) and his colleagues were responding to a burglary in progress near Komatipoort when they were ambushed by about 10 armed suspects.

During the attack, Mtshweni was shot in the upper body and rushed to hospital, but he later succumbed to his injuries.

Mpumalanga provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli confirmed the sergeant’s death. He served in the Visible Policing Unit at Schoemansdal police station and had 18 years of service.

Following the shooting, Acting Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Dr Zeph Mkhwanazi deployed all available resources to locate the suspects.

“An integrated team of intelligence operatives, Hawks, the provincial tracking team, and private sector units are working around the clock to apprehend the suspects,” said Mdhluli.

The police are urging community members not to protect criminals but to provide information that could lead to their arrest.

“Attacking police officers is an attack on the state,” Mdhluli added.

Stolen firearm recovered in separate Bushbuckridge incident

In a separate incident, on July 28, a police officer based at Nelspruit police station but residing in Bushbuckridge was robbed of his service pistol.

The officer was walking towards his vehicle in the Bushbuckridge CBD around 19:00, after using public transport, when two men approached him from behind, overpowered him, and fled with the firearm loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.

Police opened a case and, following a tip-off, arrested three suspects, two men and a woman, on Thursday (August 7).

The woman was found in possession of the stolen firearm at her residence. The gun and three rounds of ammunition were recovered.

Three suspects appear in court

The suspects – Fumani Avoid Mashego (19), Surprise Khoza (25), and Promise Thandi Mashego (23) – appeared briefly in the Mapulaneng Magistrate’s Court on Friday (August 8).

They face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and ammunition.

All three have been remanded in custody ahead of a formal bail application scheduled for August 15.

Three police officers killed since Friday

The Mpumalanga policeman’s murder follows the death of two police officers in Roodepoort on Friday while transporting a man back to prison after a court appearance.

A manhunt has been launched for Zimbabwean national Jabulani Moyo, who appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on a charge of business robbery.