Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has commended the police for their swift action following the Ngcobo police station killings - saying the multi-disciplinary team cannot be faulted.
Mbalula, together with the National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole, briefed the media in the Eastern Cape town on Saturday, after seven suspects were shot dead and 10 others arrested at a local church on Friday evening.
The Minister said the aim was not to kill, but the suspects gave the police no choice.
Mbalula said he gave the police 72 hours to respond to Wednesday's attack when five police members and a retired soldier were killed, but the breakthrough came in just 65 hours.
He said the scene of Friday's shooting was not a church, but a place where Satanism was practiced.
National Commissioner Lt-Gen Khehla John Sitole has also applauded the "speedy take-down" of suspects allegedly involved in the attack on the Ngcobo police station in the Eastern Cape this week.
"I am extremely proud of the entire investigation team as well as the medium to high-risk teams for their unwavering commitment to this case," Sitole told a media briefing at Ngcobo on Saturday morning.
"While I have welcomed the outcome of this tireless investigation, I feel that this is still of little comfort for the families, relatives, and colleagues that are mourning the passing of Warrant Officer Sibongiseni Sandlana, Warrant Officer Zuko Mbini, Constables Kuhle Mathetha, Nkosiphendulo Pongco, and Zuko Ntsheku.
"I am also extremely overwhelmed and indeed grateful for the extreme condemnation of the killing of our officers as well as the continued support by all sectors of society via several media platforms,” Sitole said.
“Sixty-five hours ago our police station was under siege, but we made a decision that this is not going to happen in South Africa where the state will be undermined by criminals. We wanted our guns, to arrest, and to stop these criminals. We went to this church and explained and they shot at us twice. Little did they knot we had trained members. Before 30 minutes, seven of them went down. We continued and arrested 10 more... We recovered our weapons too. The dignity of your police station has been restored and those who did that attack, they will never do it again," Sitole said.
