City commends swift action after officers' murders 

5 September 2019

The City of Cape Town's Safety and Security Directorate would like to commend the many role players, police, law enforcement and rescue agencies who united soon after the shooting of two of our Law Enforcement officers.

The officers were shot in Sweet Homes, Philippi where they were assigned to protect workers, who were engaged in a construction project, from attacks.

Both officers later died in hospital and our hearts are broken as we mourn their passing.

In spite of this, our spirits have been bolstered by the quick action of the South African Police Service as mere hours after the incident five people were arrested in connection with the shooting and the officers' firearms were recovered.

Information obtained at the scene led police to a shack in the Rhamaphosa informal settlement, where four men and a woman were found with four firearms. Two of these were the weapons belonging to our slain officers.

Officer Jan Nieuwenhuys was 49 years old and leaves behind his wife and four children. He had 25 years' of service and was due to retire at the end of this year.

Officer Simtembile Nyangiwe was 43 years old and a father of three children, the youngest a baby of 11 months. He was the family's breadwinner and also took care of his elderly mother.

Both men were dedicated officers and loving family men. They were breadwinners and their loss will be felt on many levels.

I visited both families and while I could offer words of comfort, it is a painful reminder that our law enforcement officers go out each day and put their lives on the line to protect vulnerable communities.

The Executive Director, Richard Bosman; the Chief of Law Enforcement, Rudolf Wiltshire; and the Director of Coordination, Petrus Robberts, have been engaging with the families of our fallen officers to offer support and counselling.

The City's Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, also applauded the support and quick responses by all the agencies involved.

'I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone, including all the City's agencies, the various ambulance services, SAPS, and hospital staff. This has been a difficult time for all involved and we call on the prosecuting authorities to request the harshest penalties possible.'

Issued by JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, City of Cape Town, 5 September 2019