Just in: IPID arrest nine police officers for murders
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) have arrested nine police officers in connection with the alleged murder of three civilians and a fellow officer in the Free State.
IPID handcuffed the men in blue on Saturday at the Bultfontein police station following an investigation into a shooting incident in Phahameng township in September 2024.
Shooting
IPID spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said the officers, attached to the Bultfontein Public Order Police (POP) Unit, are facing four counts of murder.
Shuping said Public Order Police members had responded to “a call of a domestic dispute in Phahameng township where family members were allegedly involved in a fight.”
“It is further alleged that, as police officers tried to apprehend them, they locked themselves inside the house and barricaded all access points into the house.
Arrests
Shuping added that during a tactical entry by the police, firearms were discharged, resulting in the deaths of three people as well as Constable Mojalefa Borole, who was on duty at the time.
“PID’s investigation revealed that all the deceased – the three civilians, all members of one family – and one officer died from gunshot injuries. A total of 43 empty cartridge cases were recovered from the scene.”
“The nine officers, holding ranks of constable and sergeant, were charged with four counts of murder,” Shuping said.
Shuping said the offices were detained at the Welkom holding cells and are expected to appear in the Bultfontein Magistrates Court on Monday.
Delft shooting
Meanwhile, two people, including a 12-year-old boy, were shot dead in the Western Cape
The shooting occurred in Delft, Cape Town, on Friday night, 10 April 2026, in Leiden Avenue.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said officers responded to the shooting at about 10:45pm.
“Police members responded to a complaint of a shooting, and upon arrival on the scene, they found the victims who sustained gunshot wounds to their bodies. The 38 and 12-year-old victims were declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel, while the other victims were transported to a medical facility for treatment,” Twigg said.
Twigg said investigations into the shooting is continuing.
