– Updated
Edited by Bev Mortimer: A 24-year-old Constable stationed at Majola Police Station, near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, was arrested after an alleged shooting incident at the station on 25 May, in which he fired on police management, including the Acting Station Commander and on two complainants.
The constable , Siseko Phillip, appeared in court this week on Wednesday, 28 May, on charges of attempted murder, stabbings and vehicle thefts. He was remanded in custody and the case was postponed to 1 June.
The shooting incident that has shocked the local EC communities and the SAPS as a whole followed incidents last weekend on 23 and 24 May when Philip, the police constable allegedly stabbed two different men, during two separate quarrels, and allegedly also forcibly took two private vehicles, one which crashed and the other which rolled into water, before fleeing both scenes.
No cases were reported last weekend, but on Monday two victims who were stabbed came to the station to discuss damages. During the meeting, Philip allegedly forced open a colleague’s safe, took her firearm, and opened fire on management and the two victims who had been stabbed. The Acting Station Commander was shot below the left arm and is in stable condition.
A shoot-out with other police members followed. The suspect, Philip, fled into bushes but was later arrested.
Philip faces charges including attempted murder (4 counts), theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, and charges relating to the weekend stabbings and vehicle thefts.
The Provincial Commissioner of Eastern Cape, Lieutenant General Vuyisile Ncata, strongly condemned this act. And said: “This conduct is criminal and a betrayal of the SAPS uniform. Any member who breaks the law will be arrested and face justice like any other suspect. No leniency.“
St Francis Chronicle 