Frustrated residents of Koffiefontein took to the streets on Thursday, staging a protest march to the local police station to demand answers and justice for two constables brutally murdered on duty in 2017.
The community’s anger stems from the unsolved killings of Constables Mekoa and Manjo, who were gunned down at the Koffiefontein police station on the night of June 29, 2017. To date, not a single arrest has been made in a case that residents and the slain officers’ families say has gone “completely cold.”
Protesters carried signs and voiced their fury over the stalled investigation, which was handed over to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks. Despite this, the community claims there has been a complete lack of communication and progress.
“We are sick and tired,” said community member Johnny Reed during the march. “We want [the police] to at least try to start to do their job… We will put pressure if it needs be, but let them come to the party and do their job.”
The march, which included a picket and was intended to culminate in the handover of a memorandum of demands, is not the first action the community has taken. Residents stated they had also held a similar march last year and a night vigil, all in a desperate bid to get authorities to prioritize the case.
A central point of the community’s frustration is the alleged neglect of the victims’ families. A spokesperson revealed that the families do not even have a case number for the investigation and have received no updates from investigating officers.
“There is no follow-up by the police. They don’t engage with the families. They don’t engage with our counselors,” Reed added.
Further deepening the mystery and suspicion, a community member cited an alleged witness who was reportedly taken to the Hawks’ offices in Bloemfontein by a concerned whistleblower. However, they claim this lead was not pursued, leading to suspicions within the community that the investigation is being deliberately sidelined, potentially because some police officers might be involved.
It was confirmed that the Hawks had stated the matter is “still under investigation” but that there have been “no leads that will lead to an arrest.”
The community, however, rejects this explanation. They point to the brutal nature of the crime—with both constables shot in the back and one also shot in the head—and question why a case of this caliber has not been solved while other cases involving slain officers have seen arrests.
As the march proceeded toward the very station where the tragedy occurred eight years ago, the message from Koffiefontein was clear: enough is enough. The community is demanding immediate action from the highest levels of the South African Police Service and the Ministry of Police to finally deliver justice and closure for the families of Constables Mekoa and Manjo.
