An Eastern Cape teacher made a brief appearance at the Mthatha magistrate’s court for allegations of murdering a traffic officer in the inner-city last week.
The 61-year-old traffic officer, Daniel Mxoli, was shot and killed in broad daylight while conducting his duties in the streets of Mthatha.
The suspect, 34-year-old Siphesonke Galoshe, a teacher from a school that is based in the OR Tambo coastal district, was seen coming out of his car with a rifle and fired a fatal shot that killed Mxoli on the scene.
The Hawks Eastern Cape spokesperson, Yoliswa Mgolodela, said the investigation thus far has uncovered that the attack on Mxoli happened after he had issued a traffic fine for Galoshe for contravening traffic rules.
“After issuing the fine, the traffic officer turned his back on Galoshe, that was when he allegedly alighted from his car, took out his rifle and shot the traffic officer in the back. The traffic officer sustained fatal wounds on the scene,” said Mgolodela.
She said Galoshe allegedly tried to evade arrest by hiding at his sister’s place in Gqeberha, but she forced him to hand himself over to the police.
Malibongwe Mtima, the spokesperson for the provincial department of education, said Galoshe can no longer render services to the department based on the seriousness of the allegations he faces. He added that the department will implement its own internal processes.
Galoshe was remanded in custody and is expected to appear in court again on Monday for for formal bail application.
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