Urgent calls for slain policeman’s killers to be tracked down
Warrant Officer Roger Mavundla and three of his family members were gunned down last Sunday.
After a visit to the bereaved family of slain Port Edward policeman, Warrant Officer Roger Mavundla and three of his family members, the police ministry has called on the detective team assigned to investigate the multiple shooting, to work with urgency to find the killers.
Officer Mavundla and his fiancé Khanyisile Mthuli (39), their children Siyamthanda Mthuli (10) and Thando Mavundla (17) all died from fatal gunshot wounds. Simthandile Mthuli (7), the sole survivor of the incident, is in a critical condition in hospital. The family was ambushed and shot at while inside their car metres from their home in KwaNzimakwe, Port Edward last Saturday.
Police ministry spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba said that while the motive is yet to be confirmed, investigators from the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (DPCI) are following-up on leads, to find and prosecute the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
Police Minister General Bheki Cele, Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale and the Saps management led by General Fannie Masemola, descended on Port Edward on Tuesday this week. The visit saw the provincial Saps brief the Police Ministry on the crime patterns in the policing area, and interventions in place to deal with violent crime and other contact crimes. The visit also included a comfort visit to the Mavundla family home.
Officer Mvundla has been described by his colleagues and many in the community as a respected and dedicated public servant. He is believed to have served as a detective for 12 years.
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Minister Cele has assured the bereaved family and community at large that this crime will not go unpunished. “While we are aware that policing is a dangerous job, it is shocking and truly disturbing that an officer who has been described as a good man dedicated to his work, is killed along with his young family so brutally. Our thoughts and prayers are with the young girl who is fighting for her life in hospital and hope she recovers from this tragedy. As law enforcement we need to ensure a thorough job is done during the investigative work and the results can bring the affected families, the community and the nation, some closure.” Cele ended.
Warrant Officer Mavundla and his family will be laid to rest at the weekend. The Police Ministry continues to call for the harshest sentences for the murderers of the country’s police officers, after 22 police officers were killed between July and September last year.
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