The South African Police Service is mourning the loss of two officers who were slain at the hands of criminals this past weekend.
National police commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, has activated the 72-hour action plan after a police officer was shot and killed in Kwazulu Natal on Friday night and another officer shot dead in Mpumalanga on Saturday.
According to a police statement, a Constable Mdluli was killed when he was shot by a suspected hijacker near Vlaklaagte in Mpumalanga.
Mdluli and two colleagues were in pursuit of a suspicious vehicle on Saturday night when the car suddenly stopped and one of the occupants got out and opened fire on the police.
They fled on foot while the policeman’s colleagues attended to him.
The owner of the car told police that he had been hijacked by the men who were driving in a car with a blue light. He said the car pulled off just before police arrived on the scene.
Meanwhile, in another incident, an off-duty policeman was shot and killed in Kwa Nyuswa in the Hillcrest policing area in Kwazulu Natal.
National police spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, said 32-year-old Constable Xolani Zulu, was fatally wounded he returned home on Friday night.
"It is alleged that the two gunmen arrived at the Constable's house and waited for him to return. The suspects, using what appeared to be a rifle and a handgun, and without warning, opened fire on the constable, killing him instantly," he said.
