Mthethwa commends 'tireless' cops
2012-09-27 20:29
-
Police
A 'behind the scenes' look at how the emergency services work.
Now R280.00
buy now
Johannesburg - The police officers who arrested the alleged killers of former world heavyweight boxing champion Corrie Sanders were commended by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa on Thursday.
"I wish to express my gratitude to the North West members of the police... who worked tirelessly," he said in a statement.
"Their dedication towards the safe-keeping of our society is a shining example of the kind of officers we expect, and are working towards sustaining."
Mthethwa urged police to continue their hard work to make sure that harsher sentences could be secured against those who committed violent crimes.
"We shall not allow criminals to rob us of heroes such as the late Corrie Sanders, who, in his heyday as a professional sportsman, inspired a lot of youngsters positively through his talent."
Police and communities needed to work together, as this was the most effective solution to rooting out crime.
Earlier, three men were arrested in the Oukasie informal settlement, near Brits, in connection with Sanders' murder, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.
Police received a tip-off, which led to the arrest of three men around 10am.
They recovered property believed to have been stolen during the robbery in which Sanders was shot dead on Saturday.
The three men - two aged 20 and the other 19 - were Zimbabweans.
They would appear in Brits Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Sanders was at the Thatch Haven Country Lodge, in Brits, when armed robbers entered and began firing shots at random.
He was hit in the hand and abdomen, and died in the Kalafong Hospital on Sunday.
Sanders won the World Boxing Organisation's heavyweight title in March 2003, dropping Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in the second round in Hanover, Germany.
He retired five years later.
- SAPA
