Community leaders in Kensington have condemned the shooting of an on-duty police officer and appealed to residents to come forward with information.
A 34-year-old constable, attached to the Crime Prevention Unit at Kensington Police Station, was shot and wounded while he and a colleague were on patrol during the early hours of Monday 22 April.
The two constables were in Lugmag Avenue and Drommedaris Road in Ysterplaat when they reportedly noticed three suspicious people.
When the officers approached the trio, one suspect fled and fired several shots, wounding the officer.
According to Kensington Police Station commander Lt Col Nkosinathi Losini, two suspects were arrested shortly after the incident.
Col Andrè Traut, the provincial police spokesperson, said the officer was admitted to a local hospital in a “serious condition”.
“Two suspects, aged 21 and 26, are detained for further questioning while the third one is yet to be arrested. The circumstances are still under investigation and court proceedings are yet to be scheduled.”
The Western Cape Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile activated all available resources to track down the suspect. He also wished the injured constable a speedy recovery.
Jameelah Liedeman, chair of the Kensington Community Policing Forum (CPF), said: “No stone will be left unturned to find, arrest and have justice prevail in this situation. To the constable, we wish for a full recovery and to his team members we wish for a good recovery from the trauma they experienced.”
Ward 56 councillor Cheslyn Steenberg called for stricter legislation to punish gangsters and criminals.
“Criminals truly have a free-for-all. A person who thinks it’s a good idea to attack a police officer, metro police officer, traffic services, law enforcement, etc, must be charged with treason. Now that it is election time, I urge party leaders to tell the country what they intend to do to protect our men and women in blue. Their lives matter.”
