LLEO Zamikhaya Kwinana died while on patrol in Nyanga at the start of the violent taxi strike, while LLEO Toufeek Williams was caught in gang crossfire while off duty.

Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, said officers Kwinana and Williams, both of the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme, were taken from their families and from their communities far too soon. 

‘These were young men in the prime of their lives – both in their thirties, both with young families and both with bright careers in law enforcement ahead of them.

‘One was taken in the senseless violence of a taxi strike that served no purpose, and the other taken in the senseless crossfire of a gang warfare that has terrorised communities in our city for decades.

‘The preservation of the rule of law is the most fundamental principle in a democracy, and we have to ensure that we get it right in South Africa if we are to turn our country around and steer it towards a better future. It is our mission here in Cape Town to show that this can be done: that lawlessness, anarchy and the collapse of values don’t have to be South Africa’s destiny.

‘We are all deeply saddened by the deaths of these officers, but I also know that their sacrifice will strengthen our resolve in the fight against chaos and lawlessness. We will not fail them and we will not forget them,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

‘Just more than two months ago we held our Remembrance Day Service in honour of staff members who had lost their lives in the line of duty and to the pandemic. It is with a tremendous sense of loss that we are here so soon to once again not only mourn the passing of the two officers, but to applaud their impact on our city,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

LLEO Williams, attached to the Hanover Park unit, was fatally shot on 30 July in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain. 

He was off duty at the time of the incident and was walking in Hengelaar street while carrying a young child. 

It is believed the officer was caught in gang crossfire when he sustained a head wound, and later passed away in hospital.

LLEO Kwinana, a 33-year-old father of four, was shot while on patrol with colleagues in a marked Law Enforcement vehicle, on Friday, 4 August.