'Policing is a dangerous job': Cele reiterates police should defend themselves against criminals

Police minister Bheki Cele has reiterated that police officers should not hesitate to defend themselves against criminals.

This comes after the recent killing of a police officer and three family members last weekend in KwaZulu-Natal.

Warrant officer Roger Mavundla, 39, and his family were ambushed in their car on Saturday night.

Mavundla, his fiancée Khanyisile Mthuli, his son Thando, 17 and daughter Siyamthanda, 10, were killed. A third child, Simthandile, 7, is in a critical condition in hospital.

His death comes after Sgt Simphiwe Nyawo was killed in a foiled cash-in-transit heist in Jozini on the north coast.

Cele said police officers were under attack.

“While we are aware that policing is a dangerous job, it is very shocking and truly disturbing that an officer who has been described as a good man dedicated to his work, is killed along with his young family so brutally.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the young girl who is fighting for her life in hospital and hope she recovers from this tragedy. Ours as law enforcement is to ensure a thorough job is done during the investigative work and the results can bring the affected families the community and the nation some closure,” said Cele.

He said the Hawks were following up on information they hoped would lead to an arrest.

“We have put a special team of Hawks [on the case] and I'm glad that they have hit the ground running,” said Cele.

“We were briefed and the leads, they've told us, are for now too early to begin to share with anybody including the family. We, in a not very distant future, hope to be able to find out why [the family was attacked] so we [can] give an explanation to the rest of the family, the colleagues and the community.”