Families of slain Boksburg North police officers demand justice

Kwa-Thema– The families of the two police officers who were shot and killed on October 13 at the Angelo informal settlement are pleading with their colleagues to help bring their killers to book.

They were speaking at the police officers’ official funerals – one held in Kwa-Thema and the other in Vosloorus on Saturday.

The officers, Sergeant Vusi Batsha (45) and Constable Kgotso Malahlela (29), were killed while waiting for a government mortuary van to remove the body of a resident who died of natural causes at the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg.

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It is alleged they were accosted by three armed men who opened fire, killing them instantly.

The gunmen took the officers’ service pistols and bulletproof vests before fleeing the scene on foot.

Speaking in Kwa-Thema, at the Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, at Batsha’s funeral, Major General Anna Sithole confirmed that a suspect was shot during a police manhunt on Wednesday night while trying to flee.

“The suspect is currently under police guard and the other two are still on the run,” she explained.

She added they continue pleading with residents who may have information about their whereabouts to come forward.

Batsha joined the police service in 2004 while Malahlela joined in 2019. Both were attached to the Boksburg North Police Station.

Vusi’s father Patrick Batsha said the killers cannot continue with their lives unpunished.

“My son’s life was brutally cut short because he was trying to fight crime.

“I was hoping that he would see me to my grave. We will only start healing when all the suspects are behind bars,” he added.