By Luvuyo Mjekula
Instead of being mocked on social media, police officers should be respected and appreciated, as thousands leave their families to put their lives on the line.
These were the words of Grahamstown High Court judge John Smith as he sentenced two men who shot and paralysed an East London police officer and narrowly missed a private security officer in a brazen attack on 23 November 2021.
“It has regrettably become fashionable to criticise and even mock police officers based on anecdotal evidence and speculation in the social media. Yet every day – and night, for that matter – thousands of honest, hardworking and dedicated police officers leave their families to put their lives on the line in the service of an increasingly cynical and unappreciative citizenry,” said Smith.
He added: “[Police officers] therefore deserve our respect, appreciation, cooperation, for without them the decline into apocalyptic chaos and anarchy will be swift and inexorable.”
Smith said the fact that a dedicated police officer like Warrant Officer Pieter Swanepoel would no longer be able to serve as an active member of the South African Police Service is a tragedy that should be lamented by all law-abiding citizens.
Swanepoel, an East London K9 Unit officer, and Darren Theo Saayman, 50, a private security officer, were trying to retrieve a vehicle the two men, Sanele Mankayi, 35 and Bongani Silo, 41, and their two accomplices, had hijacked in Ugie on 22 November 2021.
The four men had forcefully taken the vehicle from Thandolwethu Dyonase while he sat in the car with his girlfriend waiting for his friend. A tracker installed in the bakkie alerted the police when Mankayi and Silo drove it to East London a day later.
After an unsuccessful attempt to pull over the bakkie in Quigney, East London, Swanepoel and Saayman managed to stop it at a robot intersection.
After a struggle, Swanepoel was shot in the neck and chest and suffered a spinal cord injury. He was rushed to hospital and spent two months in intensive care. He was declared permanently disabled.
Saayman escaped unharmed after a bullet narrowly missed his head.
Handing down his judgment on sentence on Wednesday, Smith described, in heart-wrenching detail, Swanepoel’s injuries.
“Warrant Officer Swanepoel suffered serious injuries and has been paralysed from the chest down. One of the bullets severed his spinal cord. A catheter has been inserted directly into his bladder because he cannot urinate normally.
“He is also dependent on daily medication to help with his bowel movements. He has to be carried from his wheelchair to his bed and must have his feet elevated to prevent water retention. He is wholly dependent on his wife, who cares for him 24 hours a day.
“He also suffers epileptic seizures and has had various strokes which has rendered him legally blind. He is also understandably susceptible to bouts of depression for which he is receiving psychiatric treatment.
“One cannot even begin to imagine the physical and mental trauma that he must be enduring. It is, however, not difficult to conceive of the devastating impact all of this must have on his family.”
Smith said Swanepoel was 49 years old at the time of the incident and a physically fit individual who had completed various marathons.
“His dedication to his job was evident from the courageous and responsible way in which he approached the accused. The evidence established that both he and Saayman were determined to accord the accused every opportunity to surrender to lawful custody.
“Instead, [Mankayi and Silo] reacted violently with no consideration whatsoever for the consequences of their actions.”
Smith said the two men attacked Swanepoel and Saayman with direct intention to kill them.
The judge said despite the devastating consequences of their actions, Mankayi and Silo have shown no remorse. “This lack of contrition for their serious crimes is not surprising, but rather commensurate with the callous and calculating manner in which they executed their nefarious plans.”
He sentenced Mankayi, from Mthatha, to an effective 25 years and Silo, from Berlin, to an effective 22 years.
Each of them was sentenced to 20 years for the attempted murder of Swanepoel, and 15 for their attempt on Saayman’s life.
Each was given 12 years for attempted robbery of Saayman’s work firearm and another 12 for attempting to rob Swanepoel of his state firearm.
Mankayi was also sentenced to 10 years for unlawful possession of a firearm and five years for unlawful possession of ammunition.
Silo was handed another 15 years for unlawful possession of a firearm and five years for unlawful possession of ammunition.
Mankayi was sentenced to 10 years for robbery while Silo got seven years.
Judge Smith ordered that the sentences imposed in respect of counts two to nine, as well as five years of the sentences imposed in respect of count one, shall run concurrently, giving Mankayi and effective 25 years and Silo 22.
Advocate Jan Engelbrecht prosecuted.
