The Little Falls Christian Centre, west of Johannesburg, was awash with tears at Thursday’s memorial for the four police officers killed in a shootout with alleged robbers in Jeppestown.
Inspectors Frederick ”Frikkie” van Heerden (32) and Victor Nzama Mathye (49), both of the West Rand dog unit; Sergeant Gert Schoeman (30), of the West Rand emergency response service; and Constable Pieter Seaward (31), of the Johannesburg dog unit, died in a standoff on Sunday with a large group believed to have robbed a Pick ‘n Pay supermarket.
Eight people believed to be associated with the robbers also died.
Schoeman’s three-year-old son Braedon played with one of the six police dogs that, with their handlers, formed a guard of honour outside the centre.
Inside, ushers handed out packs of tissues at the door as families, friends and colleagues of the police officers wept. Chaplains knelt on the floor in front of the immediate family, holding them up as they slumped in grief.
Paramedics set up a small medical station with a stretcher and a drip to tend to two of Mathye’s shocked relatives, one of whom needed an oxygen mask. They were still reeling from the recent death of Mathye’s wife.
”I want to thank Gert [Schoeman] and his colleagues who sacrificed their lives and paid a price to purchase hope for us,” said Superintendent Stefaan Vermaak, of the West Rand emergency services, through tears.
Johannesburg area Commissioner Oswald Reddy said: ”When the shootout stopped and the gun battle ended we entered the house and were horrified by what we saw. It was like a war zone. There were bodies everywhere.
”It was evidence to all of us that these policemen paid with their lives.”
‘Let us fight the scourge’
Deputy National Commissioner Mala Singh, not mentioning that her own family were targeted by criminals on Wednesday night, urged police officers to dedicate the rest of their service to ensuring that the deaths were not in vain.
”Let us fight the scourge of violent crime and evil with double the energy and commitment,” she said.
When she went for a memorial for slain police at the Union Buildings five weeks ago, ”little did I know that the South African Police Service will experience one of its darkest days in its … history”.
She said the police officers on the scene on Sunday are internationally regarded as heroes. ”Without hesitation or fear for their own lives they stormed the building in Jeppestown and bravely fought to protect citizens of Johannesburg.”
She also paid tribute to Limpopo police officer Inspector Theunis Prinsloo, who was shot dead on Wednesday night. ”Another family starts the grieving process,” she said, conveying condolences to them.
Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Susan Shabangu broke down as she took the podium. ”Violence is depleting families,” she sobbed. ”Every child needs both parents … How do these women who are here today explain to their children? How are they going to mentor and explain to the young boys?
”I must say to the families: hold on, be strong, hold on and help us fight this crime. We can’t go on and we can’t afford it.”
She said June was once again a sad month for South Africa. ”Once more in this country during the June month, a black cloud fell … as it fell in 1976. But today it fell in a different way. It fell when our country was facing a different struggle … when our country is facing crime.”
She said the country can no longer afford to be sympathetic to criminals and urged families and communities to root them out. ”These criminals are members of our families, they are our brothers and sisters … What are we doing about it? How are we cooperating with the police?”
Retaliate
She told police officers attending the service: ”Don’t hesitate to retaliate when you are confronted by violence in our country. There is no way you can continue by compromising your lives to the threat of crime in our country.”
She said the law is on the police officers’ side and they have the full support of the ministry of safety and security.
Gauteng safety minister Firoz Cachalia said: ”The police service has the capacity to act with whatever force necessary to prevent crime. No mercy needs to be shown were no mercy is deserved.”
Nomvula Mokonyane, as acting premier of Gauteng, urged neighbours to get to know each other and to root out criminals. ”We need to know who lives in every house in Gauteng,” she said. ”We can’t drive past a house that is a semi-military camp, that we all assume to be a house, a home, yet it is a military camp.”
South African Police Union president Mpho Kwinika expressed concern that most robberies in Gauteng are carried out by foreigners. ”The first invasions in Gauteng took place in 2003 on a highway in Germiston. A gang of 14 men tried to rob a cash van; they were arrested and eight of them were foreigners.”
Kwinika said his investigations have revealed that there is a syndicate that targets cash vans and casinos, but most of them have not been arrested.
Eleven people have appeared in court in connection with the Jeppestown shooting. A court order prevents publication of their identities. Four of the dead have been identified.
A police spokesperson could not confirm that a ninth suspect had died.
Kwinika also urged the public to assist police in fighting crime and stop criticising them. ”Police have done well in combating crime from the recent protests, but no one has applauded them,” Kwinika said. — Sapa