Ipid investigating after police officer kills estranged wife and her lover

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is investigating the murder of a policewoman in Ikageleng, Zeerust, North West, allegedly by her police officer husband.

Police said the 48-year-old warrant officer at Nietvirdiend is expected to appear in court soon for allegedly killing his 44-year-old estranged wife and her lover.

The incident took place on Tuesday in Sandvlakte, Zeerust.

“Ipid has launched an investigation into the murder of a policewoman allegedly by her husband who is also a police officer,” said Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping.

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“The officer is alleged to have also gunned down a male person who was with the officer’s wife.”

A source said the couple was in the process of divorce and were living separately.

“This man has been reprimanding his wife and her young lover. He even went to the extent of asking the young man’s family to warn him to stay away from his wife,” the source said.

The policewoman was stationed at Kopfontein Port, the Botswana-South Africa border post.

The male companion was a local resident DJ at one of the Zeerust taverns. He was 30.

Traumatic environment

Dr Claire Lownie, an independent psychiatrist and integral coaching practitioner, said: “The environment for police officers is often a traumatic one and as a result, they are at risk for developing disorders such as depression and anxiety.”

Lownie’s statement was echoed by a research consultant in the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, Jody van der Heyde, who said: “This case is a massive tragedy. We often react with shock when we see police officers engaging in violent behaviour because we believe that the police are there to ensure safety and protection.

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“It is important to remember that officers live in the same South African context of high crime, violence, instability, and inequality that the rest of the public does.”

Although Van der Heyde said that it was difficult to determine the cause of these killings as these kinds of murders by police officers are under-researched in SA, she said the police were working under challenging environments.

“Police officers also work in incredibly high pressure, stressful environments. Research shows that the policing work environment is one of the most stressful occupations and has many risk factors associated with violence. So tragedies like this are the accumulation of several factors,” she added.