THE brother of a murdered policeman is struggling to come to terms with his younger sibling’s death, and has described his loss as “unreal”.
Constable Sithembiso Mnatwana, 39, was gunned down just metres away from the Samora Machel police station while returning home from a 12-hour shift at his work at Cape Town Central.
Mnatwana was gunned down outside his home.
A well-placed source told Weekend Argus that police counted 22 cartridges on the scene. Mnatwana was shot 12 times in the body and once in the head.
“Three suspects have since been taken in for questioning,” the source said.
Mnatwana’s heartbroken brother, Thembile Mnatwana, 53, said when he received the call that his brother had been shot, he went into a state of disbelief.
“It was like I was dreaming, like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. I don’t even remember how I got to the scene, but when I got there it was like reality sank in.”
Thembile said questions started flooding his mind when he saw the crime scene.
“I wanted and still want to know the reason. When I saw the cartridges, it immediately hit me that it was the intention of the killer to murder him. It looked like he was in a war.
“Why? Why would someone do such a thing to someone who doesn’t even like violence?”
Thembile recalled his brother’s younger days, and said it was always his dream to catch the bad guys.
“He would sit and watch those cop movies. He always wanted to be a police officer and when he became a cop 10 years ago, he lived for his job.
“He loved his job, he was disciplined, and had a kind heart. He didn’t drink and he didn’t smoke. He was really a good guy.”
Thembile concluded that the father of two would be missed for his kind-hearted spirit. His children would never know their father, he added.
Funeral arrangements were being made and the funeral was likely to take place on the weekend of September 24.
Mnatwana is the fifth policeman to be gunned down in the Western Cape in the space of five months.
In May, Constable Donay Phillips, who was based at the Sea Point police station, was killed on duty at Somerset Hospital.
In late June, Constable Shamiela Arendse, who was stationed at Table Bay Harbour, was murdered in front of her house in Delft and just days later Warrant Officer Siyakubonga Mphakathi was shot through a vehicle window by unknown suspects while driving towards the Philippi railway station.
In July, Constable Zuko Sima was standing next to his car in Delius Street, Delft South, when he was shot in the head.
There were also five attempted murders this year in which the men in blue were targeted.
Just last week, two SAPS officers were shot and wounded on the corners of Swartklip and Japhta K Masemola roads in Khayelitsha.
It is alleged that the shots were fired from a Toyota Avanza car, while a warning was also left at the scene that all armed services would be targeted.
Since then the City of Cape Town has offered a reward of R100 000 for information that led to the arrest of those involved in the targeted hits on SAPS and any City official linked to the unrest in Nyanga.
In August, a police constable was shot and wounded in Blaauwberg Street in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, while the 22-year-old suspect was also injured during the incident.
Two months before the Mitchells Plain incident, two police officers stationed at Bellville South were shot and wounded during an altercation with a suspect wanted for a house robbery in Lingelethu West.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said even though there had been a decrease in the number of officers killed compared to the same period in the previous financial year, the acts were unacceptable and cowardly.
“It’s unacceptable that our SAPS officers are attacked and killed in this manner. These men and women in blue, who work under extremely difficult circumstances, make huge sacrifices to protect us.”
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has condemned the killings in the wake of a commemoration ceremony held on Sunday for fallen police heroes.
Richard Mamabolo, from Popcru, said: “Since the beginning of the year, it is reported that 33 police officers have been killed on duty, meaning that in the coming year 33 or more family members will again go through the same process of being paraded.
“This trend has been taking place while there has not been any plan by the SAPS to minimise incidents of police killings, and our calls for a policing indaba have clearly fallen on deaf ears.”
Mamabolo called on Police Minister Bheki Cele to urgently review and increase the danger allowance for Public Service Act appointees, which has been stagnant at R400 since 2001.
“With the same vigour and energy the minister is known to possess, and in making these ceremonial events meaningful, the government and his department should urgently work on establishing and implementing a danger insurance for all public servants.
“This danger insurance will serve as a step towards improving their circumstances,”he said.
Mamabolo said members in the criminal justice cluster were angry about the continued loss of their colleagues.
“These members need real and practical measures in reducing the numbers of police being killed and injured, regardless of whether they are on or off-duty.”
Speaking at the day of commemoration for fallen police heroes, President Cyril Ramaphosa said criminals should know that they would be caught and face the full might of the law.
“No society can remain silent when criminals have clearly declared war on the police.
“Our men and women in blue represent the authority of the state and any attack on them is a direct attack on the state and an attack on the people.
“If criminals bother to read history, they must know that no one has ever defeated the people.
“Those responsible for police killings who have not yet been arrested must know that, wherever they are, they will be found and they will face the full might of the law.”
Meanwhile, Western Cape police provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile has expressed his sincere condolences to Mnatwana’s family and loved ones.
