Western Cape police commissioner Arno Lamoer lamented the "senseless violence" besieging South Africa yesterday and vowed to rid the police of criminals following the recent murder of an officer, allegedly by a long-time colleague.
An emotional Lamoer was speaking at Warrant Officer Steven Britz's funeral in Cape Town. Britz was allegedly shot by Luvuyo Ndevu, a detective, and three other men, at the Klapmuts police station on Wednesday night last week.
The assailants stole seven 9mm pistols from a safe.
"When will the violence in our country stop?" Lamoer asked.
"I am angry because those who are supposed to be special are the same people who killed our special person. Let us identify those criminals within this organisation. We need to get rid of them so that we can have a professional and crime- free SAPS," he said.
Britz is the fourth police officer killed on duty in Western Cape since January.
Lamoer said the police had arrested a fourth suspect in the murder this week and recovered a gun.
He said Britz had intended taking his family on holiday after his shift.
"On Thursday morning his wife and two boys were waiting for him because they had planned to go away on holiday. That was taken away from him."
Britz's wife, Lee-Ann, was too distraught to speak.
Her niece, Jo Ann Meyer, said it was sad that Britz's colleague had been implicated in his death.
"It is very sad. You can see that they are suffering," said Meyer.
She said Britz's children, Michael, 19, and Matthew, 11, had been looking forward to a road trip along the West Coast.
Britz had been a policeman for 22 years and had worked at the Klapmuts police station for 14 years.
His friend, Warrant Officer Francois Ross, said his colleagues were still reeling in shock.
Ross said Ndevu had worked at the police station for four years and that he and Britz had been on "first-name terms".
"The charge office where he was killed is still closed. No one has the courage to open it," said Ross.
Labour unions condemned the killing. Popcru provincial secretary Mncedisi Mbolekwa said Ndevu "should never be released from jail".
"We want to send a clear message to 20000 police officers that, if you kill a police officer being a police officer yourself, you are going to rot in prison because that is high treason," he said.
Ndevu, 30, and Anele Phantsi, 33, appeared in the Paarl Magistrate's Court on Tuesday charged with murder and robbery.
This month Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa revealed that the SAPS was dismissing more than 1000 officers with criminal records.