A member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) attached to the Mutale Police Station was shot and injured during an armed robbery at his house at Lukau Tshishivhe last Saturday night (3 December).
The police sergeant, who had been sleeping with his wife next to him, was reportedly awoken by a loud bang on the door, followed by three unknown suspects entering their bedroom. One of the men was armed.
According to the police statement, the suspects demanded money from the victim before robbing him of his clothes, cellphone, footwear, ladies' handbags and wallet with bank cards. The one with the firearm shot the police officer in the shoulder, while the other two suspects dragged his wife into nearby bushes.
The victim managed to crawl to reach his service pistol and retaliated by firing a shot at the suspect left behind in the room. The suspect ran out of the house, jumped over the fence and disappeared into the bushes.
The wife later returned to the house, but investigations are still unfolding as to what exactly had happened to her. Police searched the nearby bushes and found a wounded man. He is believed to be the suspect who was shot in the house.
The victim's neighbours, who were still recovering from shock on Sunday morning, said that they had heard gunshots during the night but had been too scared to go out and investigate.
One of the neighbours, who has been living in the area for more than 15 years, said the problem of crime in the Mutale area was fuelled by illegal immigrants during the festive season. Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said that over the past 10 years, the crime rate had been increasing during the festive season.
"They [illegal immigrants] break into houses during the night and rob residents of their belongings like clothes, cellphones and household appliances. The next morning, they disappear to Zimbabwe. Opening a case at the local police station here is useless. Our police are doing nothing when it comes to investigating cases against illegal foreigners," she said angrily.
In an earlier statement Limpopo police spokesperson Col Malesela Ledwaba said the wounded suspect, who is a Zimbabwean, was expected to appear in the Mutale Magistrate's Court soon on charges of attempted murder and house robbery. It later transpired that the suspect died while still at Donald Fraser Hospital.