Five people, including an off-duty police officer, were shot and killed in a mass shooting in Gugulethu on Saturday evening.
Also read: WC organised crime detectives investigate drive-by shooting
The deceased officer, Warrant Officer Lindela Mraqisa was attached to the Western Cape’s Protection and Security Service (PSS) division, serving as a close protector to Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale since 2019.
The incident occurred in NY5 Gugulethu at around 11pm and saw four men and a woman fatally wounded.
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.
As they drew near to the two vehicles, the suspects opened fire repeatedly. They then took off.
A murder investigation has been opened by detectives from the provincial serious violent crimes unit.
Mathale described Mraqisa as a dedicated, modest and diligent 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.
Warrant Officer Lindela Mraqisa is among the 5 people that were shot&killed in Gugulethu on Saturday evening.He served as the close protector for Deputy Minister of Police,Cassel Mathale since 2019. Maximum resources have been mobilised to apprehend those behind the mass shooting pic.twitter.com/oiKo4V0dRH
— Athlenda Mathe (@AthlendaM) October 1, 2023
A delegation of senior police officers will travel to Cape Town on Monday under the direction of Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, where they will meet with the investigative team and pay a visit to the grieving family.
Additionally, they will pay a visit to the family of another off-duty police officer who was killed on Sunday morning in Mfuleni. The female police officer, who was 29-years-old, worked at the Samora Machel Police Station.
She had allegedly been out with a friend visiting acquaintances in the area when the incident occurred.
‘Mfuleni police were alerted to an unknown body that was discovered in Malgas camp, Extension 4, Mfuleni in the early hours of Sunday morning,’ explained SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa. ‘Upon arrival they initiated an investigation. It was in that process that it was ascertained the deceased person was an SAPS member.’
A 30-year-old suspect was subsequently arrested by Mfuleni police.
‘Further investigations about the circumstances that led to her death including the possibility that she was raped, are the subject of an investigation that has since been undertaken by the Western Cape DPCI(Hawks) investigators.’
A suspect has been arrested in connection with her death.
Also read:
Cape Town lawyer among those killed in Gugulethu drive-by shooting
Picture: Supplied / SAPS