City offers R100 000 reward after guards slain

The City is offering a R100 000 reward for information leading to the capture and prosecution of those responsible for the killing of two security contractors in Philippi’s Phola Park on Tuesday.

The hired armed guards were escorting municipal staff attending to sewer pipe repairs in the area, the City said in a statement.

The City blamed “local extortionists” for the killings.

The armed security guards had driven to the site in Phola Park in their own company vehicle, while a City vehicle transported five operational staff.

On arrival, the teams disembarked to gather tools and inspect the pipe. While busy, two armed men approached the City vehicle and another two headed to the toilet block where multiple shots were fired, said the City.

While the City staff and residents fled to safety, both guards died, and a female City staff member was also injured from a hard fall.

Law Enforcement and the SAPS cordoned off the crime scene, and the criminal investigation is ongoing, said the City.

Municipal services are under threat from criminal attacks in parts of Philippi, including the Kosovo shanty town where a stormwater upgrading project is under way, and security escorts are being used to shield staff and contractors, said the City.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis vowed that the City would not stop delivering services to Philippi residents, but he said frontline staff were under attack and he urged residents to report threats to municipal projects by using the City’s 24-hour tip-offs hotline (0800 00 6992) .

“You can remain anonymous and the City is offering a reward of up to R100 000 for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the murderers behind the attacks on our staff and contractors. Together we can root out the criminals blocking progress in communities.”

The hotline and rewards system are part of the Kwanele! Enough! Genoeg! metro-wide anti-extortion campaign.

Mayoral committee member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien said the City had spent more than R8.5 million on private security escorts for staff in the 2023/24 financial year.

“Unfortunately ruthless targeting persists and has now claimed two more innocent lives,” he said.