Africa-Press – South-Africa. The City of Cape Town has upped a reward to R1.35 million after the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officer Zamikhaya Kwinana was shot and killed.
Kwinana is being laid to rest in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.
In a desperate bid to find the killers responsible for gunning down the LEAP officer in Nyanga during the taxi violence a week ago, the City is pleading with the public to be more forthcoming with information.
Kwinana, 33, was a passenger in a marked Law Enforcement vehicle driving in Nyanga just after 20:00 on Friday 4 August, when the vehicle came under heavy fire.
The City’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said they were taking decisive action to ensure that justice was served by announcing a substantial increase in the reward for information that directly leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of those responsible for the murder.
The City first offered the maximum amount of R250 000, however, according to Smith, several benefactors approached the City requesting to pledge additional amounts to the reward already offered.
He said:
Kwinana’s family told News24 they were grateful that the City had taken “decisive” action to find their loved one’s killer, even though “it won’t bring him back to us”.
The family want justice for their loved one, who they say was well known in the Nyanga community because of his kind, loving nature.
His sister Ndileka said the family were still trying to come to terms with him no longer being alive. She said his four children would now be forced to grow up “without their dad around to see them making a success of their life”.
She added that, even when Kwinana was off duty, he would escort residents safely home if he saw them walking alone.
“If he spotted someone walking home alone when he was out in the streets and off from work, he would often offer to walk or drive residents home so they get home safely because the Nyanga area is not the safest place in the province,” Ndileka said.
‘He loved working for the City’
Describing her son as a family man with “a heart of gold”, his mother Nosapho said she would never come to terms with him never calling her again. “I’m so sad. It’s still unbelievable. My boy died doing the job he enjoyed so much. He loved working for the City and protecting the people that lived in it.
“He was a son any parent would be proud to have, and I cannot believe that his no longer with us.”
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The family hopes an arrest will be made and has pleaded with the police to find those responsible for Kwinana’s death.
Smith has since urged anyone with information to come forward so that those responsible for the attack can be brought to book.
“Let us unite as a community, resolute in our stand against crime and violence, as we seek justice for Officer Kwinana and his family,” Smith added.
If you have any formation on the murder, the City’s toll-free tip-off line number is 0800 110077.
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