Africa-Press – South-Africa. An off-duty police officer was among the five people who were shot and killed during a mass shooting in Gugulethu, Cape Town, on Saturday evening.
Warrant Officer Lindela Mraqisa was attached to the Western Cape’s Protection and Security Service (PSS) division and had served as a close protector to Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale since 2019.
Four men and a woman were shot dead on Saturday in NY5 Gugulethu at around 23:00.
According to police, two vehicles were parked on the side of the road in the area when a number of suspects got out of a car near two parked vehicles.
The suspects approached the two vehicles and started firing numerous shots. The suspects then fled.
Provincial serious violent crimes detectives have launched a murder investigation.
Mathale said Mraqisa was a dedicated, humble and hardworking officer.
“The number of police officers killed on and off duty remains a concern for the leadership of the SAPS. We need the whole of society and government to fight this scourge. Mraqisa was a soft-spoken, dedicated and focused police officer who was always punctual and professional in his conduct. We hope the police will find and bring to book those responsible for his death. My condolences go to his family,” he said on Sunday.
Police Minister Bheki Cele and the national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, will lead a delegation of senior police officers to Cape Town on Monday, where they will interact with the investigating team and visit the bereaved family.
They will also visit the family of another off-duty officer who was killed in Mfuleni on Sunday morning. The 29-year-old female police officer was attached to the Samora Machel police station.
The circumstances surrounding her death are the subject of a police investigation.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with her death.
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