The national commissioner of the SAPS, General Fanie Masemola, urged members of the South African Police Service not to rest until they arrested the suspect who had fled the scene of a shootout with the police at Tshakhuma. Masemola was speaking during the funeral service of the late Sergeant Mpfariseni Nemahadani.
The funeral was held at Vleifontein Stadium on Saturday, 11 May, and was attended by SAPS management, colleagues of the late Nemahadani, family members, friends, community members, and the Levubu CPF.
Detective Sergeant Mpfariseni Hamilton Nemahadani (44) paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. He was shot in a shootout with three armed robbers at Tshakhuma. The robbers had earlier robbed a business at Tsianda, where they stole money and took off with the vehicle belonging to the robbed businessman. Nemahadani and a colleague pursued them after receiving the complaint.
In the ensuing shootout, one robber was shot dead, one was seriously injured, and one managed to flee the scene. Nemahadani was seriously injured and airlifted to a clinic in Polokwane by helicopter. Sadly, he passed away. Speaker after speaker at the funeral described him as a hero who had fearlessly taken the fight to criminals.
Delivering the eulogy, General Masemola, who was accompanied by Limpopo Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe and senior management, urged the police to work relentlessly in tracing and arresting the fugitive who had killed Nemahadani.
"Just like the Nemahadani family, the police are totally devastated by the passing of our colleague. We have mobilised maximum resources to track down the suspect. We will not rest until he is caught and ensure he faces the full might of the law. We will be speaking with our colleagues at the National Prosecuting Authority, so that once he and his accomplice are caught, should they apply for bail, the state must oppose bail. We need to understand that an attack on a police officer is an attack on the authority of the state," Masemola said.