The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) General Khehla Sitole has commended the vigilance of community members that led to the arrest of a suspect believed to have killed an off-duty police constable.

During the early hours of Tuesday, 28 January 2020 it is alleged that a community member alerted police to screams coming from a house in the Rhodes Park area near Mahikeng.

Members of the SAPS reacted swiftly to the crime scene and upon arrival, found the 29-year-old police constable lying in a pool of blood. The member was rushed to hospital but sadly died on arrival. At the scene, eyewitnesses pointed out the suspect and a 33-year-old woman was then arrested.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the Constable was involved in an argument with the suspect before he was fatally stabbed.

The woman will appear before the Mmabatho Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 30 January 2020, for the alleged murder.

The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Khehla Sitole has hailed the community memebers vigilance which led to the succesful apprehension of the suspect.

“We cannot overemphasize the important role of our communities in working together with our members to detect, prevent and investigate crime. We will continue to urge people in South Africa to join their local Community Police Forums (CPF) with a view of ensuring that together we put an end to criminality. We once again applaud the brave men and women who continue to work with us in sharing information on crimes”.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) continues to call on communities to work together with the SAPS to end these senseless killings and attacks on our members by sharing information on crime by downloading the MySAPSApp or by calling the Crime Stop Hotline number on 0860010111.