The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is probing the death of a man who was allegedly shot dead by police officers in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape this week.

Ipid spokesperson Ndileka Cola the man allegedly killed his wife with a knife and fled the scene.

Cola said he was later tracked down hiding in bushes by the K9 unit from Lusikisiki and public order police members.

“The deceased was tracked down by the police dog unit in bushes underneath a cliff. He was allegedly hiding in a position surrounded by huge rocks with only one entry point.”

Cola said it was alleged the two officers both fired two rounds when they were confronted by the suspect who was throwing stones at them while “advancing towards them with a knife”.

“As alleged, the officers could not run away because running in a rocky forest area could endanger their own lives or they could fall down the cliff. It is alleged the officers were left with no option but to defend themselves.”

The incident happened on Wednesday.

Cola said a postmortem was conducted on Thursday and Ipid’s investigation officer was in attendance.

 “As part of the investigation process, the directorate continues to investigate this matter.”

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