A 59-year-old priest was robbed and shot dead while waiting for a bus early on Tuesday morning. Manuel Jansen, a priest from Portlands, Mitchells Plain, was reportedly ambushed by two men as he waited for a bus at 5.20am.
Jansen was a priest at the Hazeldene New Apostolic Congregation and was shot in three places: the head, chest and stomach.
Although an off-duty police officer witnessed the incident and intervened, he was unable to save Jansen. A firearm and three cartridges were recovered from the scene of the crime on Merrydale Avenue, and a suspect was apprehended for the crime later that afternoon.
The suspect will appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court once charged.
Speaking to IOL, Lentegeur Community Policing Forum (CPF) spokesperson Byron De Villiers said that incidents such as this have a tendency to spike between 5am and 6am when there is less visibility.
“This is a hotspot area for robberies as it is along a very busy taxi route,” he said. “We urge residents and pedestrians to remain alert and we continue saying rather save your life than put up a fight against armed criminals.”
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