Popcru calls for more protection for police
Police Union Popcru has called on Police Minister Nathi Nhleko to look beyond the tactical plan he introduced in September in dealing with the killing of police officers.
Hundreds of the union's members took to the streets of Johannesburg today to protest the deaths of the men and women in blue.
Nearly 70 officers have been killed in the country since the beginning of the year.
Here in KwaZulu-Natal, 52 year old Jericho Mdletshe was gunned down in Gingindlovu near Eshowe on Monday, when he and his colleague responded to a robbery at a shopping centre in the area.
Mdletshe was apparently a few weeks from retiring. His colleague was wounded in the attack.
The incident came two days after officer Niren Ramsa-roop was shot dead by a robbery suspect he was trying to apprehend.
Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo says a lot needs to be done.
"We'd like to see the guaranteeing of safety for members of the police service, even it be they're even transported between work and home all the time.
"We've seen a number of them being killed after leaving work and I think there needs to be a continuous campaign about illegal firearms that are within our communities and killing a lot of our community members," he said.
(Photo: Gallo Images)