The South African Police Service (SAPS) held the annual National Commemoration Day function at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Sunday.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered the keynote address at the sombre ceremony “to remember 27 police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty during the 2024/2025 financial year”.
In attendance were the police top brass, including Acting Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia and National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola and their subordinates.
“Last year, we mourned 39 of their colleagues. Together, that brings the devastating figure of 66 police officers killed in just two years. Sixty-six lives cut short while protecting our democracy, our communities, and our freedom. These deaths have ruthlessly torn apart sixty-six families,” Mashatile said in his address.
The names of these fallen heroes are engraved on a plaque at the SAPS Memorial Site.
Killed by robbers
In his tearjerker of a speech, Mashatile touched hearts when he singled out two officers – the youngest and the oldest, who perished “among the ng the 27 remarkable individuals we are commemorating today”.
It could not have been easy to recall the killing of Sergeant Lawrence Mtshweni, “who was shot and killed by more than seven armed robbers”.
This gruesome murder took place at a store in Schoemansdal, Mpumalanga, on Friday, 8 August 2025.
Mashatile also made mention of Constable Boikokobetso Retlotlisitswe Sonopo who, at just 26, was barely one year in service as a police officer.
He was on patrol in Mount Fletcher on 28 June 2024 when his team was ambushed.
The other one Mashatile mentioned was Lieutenant Colonel Pieter Pretorius, aged 59, “a devoted father and seasoned investigator stationed at the Ermelo Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit”.
“His killers sought to silence justice, but they will not succeed. To date, ten suspects have been arrested, [as] a testament to our commitment that justice will prevail.”
“This ceremony is one of the commemorations I wish we could skip for a year, not because of its lack of importance, but because it would mean that no officers had fallen in the line of duty. Each year we commemorate this event, my heart is weighed down with sorrow, thinking about the child who has lost a parent, the spouse who has lost a husband or wife, and a brother or sister who has lost a sibling.”
Families devastated by loss
“Given the young ages of some of these fallen heroes, I see parents who have lost sons and daughters, some of whom were breadwinners. As parents, you had to endure the unimaginable pain of laying your children to rest, grappling not just with the sorrow of your child’s passing but also grieving the loss of hopes, dreams, and a future.”
“To the families gathered here, especially the spouses who now carry the heavy burden of grief, we say: South Africa shares in your sorrow. We know that your loss cannot be measured, for it is a wound that will never fully heal.
“To the children of our fallen Officers, some of whom sit before us today, we say: your pain is our pain. Please be aware that your parents died as heroes and heroines, and their sacrifices are acknowledged by the whole country.”
Keep up the fight
“To the colleagues, the men and women of the SAPS who stood shoulder to shoulder with these Officers, we recognise your pain. You have lost teammates, mentors, and friends. We honour your courage to return to duty, despite the risks you face every day.”
“Let me reiterate, as Police Officers, you must not die with your service firearms in your holsters.”
“You have a duty to protect your lives; this means you must use force that is proportional to the threat that you face. You must not surrender to any form of criminality.”
