By Staff Writer
National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, is set to visit Mthatha on Sunday after violent attacks on police officers in the area.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, said that Masemola will address the ongoing efforts by police to curb crime in Mthatha and its surroundings.
“General Masemola will also provide an update on progress of police investigations into extortion-related crime in the area,” Mathe said.
This visit follows a deadly shootout between the police and suspected members of an extortion gang, which left three suspects dead on Wednesday. Among them was Sakhumzi Dalinzolo Mareke, a self-proclaimed chief of Mthatha West, who had been tied to numerous extortion cases.
Mareke and his two accomplices allegedly followed police officers from the National Intervention Unit (NIU) to their premises after completing a raid in Mthatha West.
“As members arrived at the premises, the two suspicious vehicles [Mareke and accomplices were travelling in] stopped behind them, and the three men armed with firearms alighted and immediately opened fire. Police retaliated, fatally wounding the three men,” said police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa.
In a separate incident on Friday, a police officer who is part of the NIU was shot at while driving to work in Mandela Park in Mthatha West.
“The [officer] immediately stopped his vehicle and the suspect fled on foot. Police swiftly responded and, on investigation, they later arrested the 45-year-old suspect,” Mawisa said.
The police officer was not injured in the incident.
Eastern Provincial Police Commissioner, General Nomthetheleli Mene, told Newzroom Afrika that Mareke’s arrest had been imminent due to his alleged criminal activities.
Mthatha has seen a spike in crime and extortion, forcing several businesses to shut down in recent months.
Pictured Above: National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
Source: X/@SAPS
