Ipid probing whether Stellenbosch constable was shot by one of his own

A police constable who died after a shootout with armed robbers outside Stellenbosch may have succumbed to wounds inflicted by his colleagues.

"There is now speculation that the deceased policeman could have been shot by his colleagues," Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Moses Dlamini said on Thursday.

"Ipid cannot confirm this speculation. We are therefore conducting a preliminary investigation to determine if the discharge of police firearms resulted in any injury or death. If confirmed, Ipid will take over the investigation and run with it until it is concluded."

Police spokesperson Capt Frederick van Wyk said earlier on Thursday that the police constable was fatally wounded during a shootout in pursuit of suspects involved in a robbery around 8pm on a farm near Vlottenburg on Wednesday.

Police were tipped off about a planned house robbery in the area earlier on Wednesday.

Dlamini said Ipid investigators on standby were called out on Thursday morning at 3.14am.

"A police member was shot and killed by an unknown suspect who fled the scene at a farm near Stellenbosch. SAPS members discharged their firearms but none of the suspects were injured or killed. A police officer who was in pursuit of the robbery suspects was shot and killed by said suspects," Dlamini said.

The postmortem will be conducted on Friday. The investigation continues. No arrests have been made.