ZWELITSHA - The SAPS Management in the Eastern Cape has expressed shock and dismay at the new information which came to light, implicating the 34-year-old police constable in the alleged armed robbery and hijacking incident which occurred in Dalasile, in the early hours of 20August 2022 in Engcobo policing precinct.

Subsequent to these reports, police conducted an investigation according to the information which was provided by the police officer who purported to be a victim and survivor of the tragic incident. On the day of the alleged incident, the police officer’s version of events was that he had attended a complaint of a person who was sexually assaulted. He further stated that as he was driving back from the medical institution where he had dropped the victim, he was accosted by unidentified suspects. At gunpoint, the two suspect pulled him out and then drove off in the police vehicle.

According to him, he escaped unharmed during the ordeal and had managed to call for assistance from the police station. He further claimed that he was immediately rescued from the situation by his colleagues. The police vehicle was later found abandoned in the nearby Sigidi forest in the morning.

As the investigation by SAPS detectives unfolded, with searches being conducted for the alleged suspects in and around the local villages, new information came to light. The information revealed that the police officer’s earlier version of events was in fact untrue and a well calculated fabrication designed to mislead the SAPS and members of the community into believing his falsehood whilst hiding his own acts of misconduct.

This disgraceful discovery revealed that the police constable had misused the police vehicle to drive around with friends in the local tavern. He and his friends were captured in a circulating video clip in social media platforms, carrying what looked like bottles of liquor while alighting from the back of a marked police vehicle.

SAPS management has immediately ordered that disciplinary steps be taken against the constable who by his action has violated the SAPS code of conduct and injured the image of the South African Police Service. The Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene has further criticised the alleged actions of the police constable and assured the members of the public that those found to have brought the name of the SAPS into disrepute, will be subjected to the disciplinary code of the organisation.

Source: South African Police Service