Hout Bay constable Phindiwe Nikani was pregnant when she was shot, national police commissioner Riah Phiyega revealed.
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Slain Hout Bay constable Phindiwe Nikani was pregnant when she was shot during a routine patrol in Imizamo Yethu last Friday, national police commissioner Riah Phiyega revealed during a memorial service for Nikani and the colleague with whom she died, Mandisi Nduku.
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So not only was her life taken, but also the life she was carrying,” said Phiyega during the event on Friday in the multipurpose hall in Hangberg, which was packed to capacity with family members, police and other mourners.
Nikani, 26, was in the process of lobola negotiations with fiancé Nkosana Mkuoni, who has been admitted to hospital as a result of the trauma.
Weekend Argus reported last weekend how Hout Bay resident Xoliswa Mayipheli said she was speaking to Nikani and Nduku, 27, when she heard a “huge exploding sound”, then saw the two lying “head-to-head”.
Nduku died later in hospital.
Consumed with grief on Friday, Nikani’s father, Phambukile Nikani, who was expected to deliver her eulogy, stood in silence.
“I am out of power to speak to you today, but I will ask God to give me the words and strength so that I may speak next time,” he said.
Then the devastated man stumbled from the stage, and his daughter’s friends and family wept. Hout Bay police station spokeswoman Tanya Lesch said the suspect arrested in connection with the murders of the two would not be charged with the murder of Nikani’s unborn baby “for now”.
The 28-year-old was arrested on Sunday and will appear in court again on Thursday.
Nduku was described by his brother and colleagues as a good person.
“I will never forget his smile,” Hout Bay station commissioner Captain Rian Bester said.
Former station commander Colonel Dorothy Xosha described both police officers as her own children.
“Phindiwe was very disciplined, committed, respectful, intelligent and trustworthy. She was always open and honest with me,” she said.
A third officer, Mphumelelo Xakekile, 50, was shot a few days before the Hout Bay incident while ticketing a taxi near Khayelitsha on Wednesday last week.
Yesterday, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, who was also at the service, offered her condolences to the families before addressing the issue of rising police deaths in SA.
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The Western Cape is in mourning, with four police officers shot and three dead. I was shocked to hear that there have been more than 150 attacks on police officers this year.”
The premier presented a bouquet of proteas to the mourning family members, as a symbol of “hope, life and beauty in despair”.
“There should be no parole for the killers of police,” she said.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer said the police force would not stop until justice was done.
“We will never give up; we will stay focused on our task to protect the nation. Nothing will deter us,” he said in an impassioned address.
The scripture reading and sermon were conducted by members of the Hout Bay police, with the Polmusca choir leading hymns and worship. The sombre affair was concluded with a tearful recollection by Hout Bay Constable Neville Wentzel of the last moments spent with the fallen officers.
“When the call came into the station to confirm they had been shot, I was all alone. My colleagues were gone,” he said.
Nduku is survived by his mother, four siblings and his three children. Nikani is survived by her daughter, her father, six siblings, her grandfather and her fiancé.
Weekend Argus