- Three Nyanga police officers were arrested for allegedly robbing a Somali business in Mfuleni, stealing cash and cigarettes at gunpoint.
- The officers were caught after the shop owner followed them, recorded their police vehicle, and reported the incident to the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit.
- The Nyanga CPF welcomed the arrests, condemning corrupt officers and urging the community to continue working with law enforcement.
Three police officers of the Nyanga Police Station are languishing in the cells after they were nabbed for business robbery in Mfuleni. The officers, aged 28 and 29, appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 4 March following their arrest a day earlier.
They will appear again in court on Tuesday 11 March.
It is alleged the officers robbed a Somali business in October last year and got away with an undisclosed amount of money and cigarettes.
Following a long investigation by members of the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit, the trio was arrested on Monday 3 March after reporting for duty.
Provincial police spokesperson Lt Col Malcolm Pojie confirmed the arrest. “Investigation reveals that the members were on duty at Nyanga police station when at about 21:00 the three members visited a Somalian shop in Mfuleni and requested to search the shop. It is alleged that the officers then demanded access to the room where cash and cigarettes were kept. When the owner refused, they pulled their firearms and forced the owner at gunpoint to open the safety room from where they took an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes. The owner and his two brothers were guarded by accomplices in the backroom,” said Pojie.
He added that the officers then loaded the cigarettes into the police vehicle and drove off.
According to Pojie, the shop owner managed to follow the suspects in his private vehicle and took a video of the police vehicle in question and later reported the matter to the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit for investigation.
“After thorough investigation by the unit, the docket was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) who then decided to charge the members for business robbery and pointing of firearm. Subsequently, a warrant of arrest was issued and executed on the same day,” he explained.The incident has been condemned by the Nyanga Community Policing Forum (CPF) and appealed for the law to take its course against the three officers.
CPF secretary Dumisani Qwebe described the arrest of the officers as a victory to the community.He said they don’t have a place for rotten officers in the local police.“
This is a good example even to other officers who are planning to do the similar thing. They are not tarnishing the Nyanga officers, but nationwide. We need the officers that will lead by an example,” said Qwebe. He applauded the whistleblowers for doing a great job by informing the officers citing that without them the culprits wouldn’t be apprehended. He urged the community to keep on working with the officers.
“Nyanga is not a jungle. We are saying no to crime. Whoever is doing it must know that his or her days are numbered including the officers,” said Qwebe.