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IN THE LINE OF DUTY: Metro police officer Thembelani Khuboni was shot and killed in Soweto yesterday.

AS USUAL, Patricia Ndlebende bid her husband goodbye yesterday morning as he went to board a taxi to work.

Ndlebende, 31, told Sowetan that she had an eerie feeling as she watched her husband, Thembelani Khuboni, disappear around the corner from their house in Pimville, Soweto.

Seconds later, gunshots rang out and Khuboni, 42, a Johannesburg metro police officer, lay in a pool of blood.

He died in a hail of bullets from two unknown assailants who fled the scene with his service pistol.

"I watched him turn the corner, but before I could close the gate I heard several gunshots coming from his direction. I rushed to the scene ... and there he was on the ground.

"I saw two men running from the scene towards an open field. They were carrying a bag," the distraught wife said.

Khuboni was shot just after 5am while on his way to catch a taxi to the Loveday Street, Johannesburg, metro police depot where their cars are kept overnight.

The incident happened near the Pimville Stadium, according to police.

Ndlebende was due to leave for home in Emzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal, later this week for the long weekend.

The family had planned a cleansing ceremony, and Khuboni would have joined up with Ndlebende and his other wife Nobantu Nogxolo.

He leaves behind seven children.

Police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini said: "The officer was shot several times in the upper body after leaving his house, which is only two minutes away from the scene of crime."

No arrests have been made.

Yesterday's fatal shooting was the second involving traffic officers in the past four days.

On Saturday, two metro police cops were robbed of their service pistols when they unwittingly walked into a robbery at a Fourways store.

They escaped unharmed.

MEC for community safety in Gauteng Faith Mazibuko said attacking law enforcement officers was tantamount to attacking the state.

Comments

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Sat May 25 07:10:30 SAST 2013 ::

Apr 25, 2012

RobinH

What's it with killing traffic officers? SUre, there may be all sorts of suggestions of "grassroots" bribery in the ranks, but really, they are the soft face of policing in SA. This is incomprehensible, unforgivable and downright cowardly. One hopes the perpetrator/s will be caught and sintenced as heavily as possible, if the prosecution services can just get their heads out of......... Fill in the dots, as the moderator would object to my terminology.
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Apr 25, 2012

tpaz

Metro cops should not have gu.ns! Change the law.

Flash light, handcuffs, baton stick and ticket book + radio that is all.

SAPS - can have gu.ns.


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Apr 25, 2012

Mguyo

Mele kufe bani they will hire someone els and there are lot of unemployed youth, he had two wifes jerrr
that fmly izabaSTRONG

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Apr 25, 2012

MsKinkyakaKamaSutra

Condolences to the family

@tpaz, I know that by them carrying gugns they are attracting crimginals but how will thgey defe.nd themselves when faced with ar.m.ed crim.inals/civ.ilia.ns. They won't fe.nd off bul.lets with bat.ons (as if pla.ying bad.miton).
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Apr 25, 2012

Papage

Why are they not picked up from their homes, someone is not doing his job here.
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Apr 25, 2012

RobinH

Papage: I disagree. They might have tough jobs, but so do many other people. To expect a further tax-burden by having the how many thousands of traffic officers collected from home is impossible.
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Apr 25, 2012

TC2C

She's got to much details since when Umfazi ephelezeli Ndoda she's involve??????
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Apr 25, 2012

BaleliM

We are not only a h orny nation but a t rigger and s uicidal one as well.
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Apr 25, 2012

MsKinkyakaKamaSutra

@TC2C
Maybe she was going to lock the gate.

When my dad leaves for work (which is not that early and he doesn't catch a taxi), my mom uye amphelezele so that she can close the gate for him.
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Apr 25, 2012

MsKinkyakaKamaSutra

@Papage
Why are they not picked up from their homes, someone is not doing his job here.
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I agree because in my neighbourhood they are fetched and dropped off at home. I also wonder why the deceased was not fetched
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