The suspects wanted for killing a police officer attending to a business robbery in Schoemansdal, Mpumalanga, have been shot dead during a cross-border raid in northern Eswatini.
The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force, the SA Police Service (SAPS), and the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) conducted the raid after they learnt that the killers of Sergeant Dumisani Mtshweni (47) were hiding in the kingdom.
Their nationalities were not disclosed.
Mtshweni was killed when he responded to a business robbery in the early hours of August 8 in the town nestled on the border between South Africa and Eswatini.
He was shot and killed by more than seven armed robbers at a store in Schoemansdal.
According to the Eswatini police, three suspects fled into the kingdom. Two of them were hiding in the village of Nyakatfo, located on the northern border of the kingdom near the Mpumalanga side of South Africa.
The third suspect fled to Mantambe, a village on the southern part of the kingdom bordering South Africa on the KwaZulu-Natal side.
Shootout claims two lives
“In the early hours of today, REPS led a joint operation, supported by a security cordon from the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force, that moved in on the location in Nyakatfo.”
“Two suspects, armed with a pistol, opened fire as they attempted to flee. Officers returned fire, and both were fatally wounded.
“A third suspect, traced to his parental home in Mantambe in Shiselweni, took his life with a pistol before officers could arrest him.
“The Royal Eswatini Police Service has commended the cooperation that led to the swift conclusion of the case and has reaffirmed their commitment to tackling cross-border crime,” the Eswatini police service said in a statement.
General Fannie Masemola, the national commissioner of SAPS, expressed gratitude to Vusie Manoma Masango, the commissioner of REPS, for his cooperation and support in tracking down three police killers who were located in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The statement explained that the cross-border operation was led by the SAPS acting provincial commissioner of Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Zeph Mkhwanazi, and culminated in the tracing of three suspects involved in the murder of Mtshweni.
On Saturday, Mpumalanga arrested the first suspect. Further investigation led the SAPS to Eswatini, where the information was shared with the REPS and the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the SAPS spokesperson, reported that the REPS traced two suspects to the Sishweleni region.
“When the suspects noticed the police, they opened fire on them, and the Eswatini Royal Police returned fire, fatally shooting both suspects,” Mathe said.
“Further investigation led Eswatini police to Mantambe in Shiselweni, where the third suspect allegedly took his life with a pistol before police officers could arrest him.”
Six officers killed since April
Masemola has commended the cross-border operation on behalf of Mtshweni’s family and the police.
“We would like to thank the Royal Eswatini Police led by commissioner Masango as well as the role played by the Umbutfo Defence Force in assisting our Mpumalanga police to trace these police killers.
“We are looking forward to strengthening and deepening our cooperation on matters of law enforcement. The attacks and killing of our police officers are a concern, and we request our communities to assist us in putting a stop to these killings.
“From April 1 to date, we have already lost six police officers; we cannot afford to lose more. We need as many boots on the ground as possible to prevent and combat crime,” said Masemola.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Jabulani Thabang Moyo, who killed two police officers in Roodepoort, Gauteng, last week, is still underway.
An R150 000 reward is being offered by the SAPS to anyone who can shed light on Moyo’s whereabouts.
