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- Two of the four men accused of murdering a Strand constable appeared in court on Wednesday.
- One person was remanded in absentia because he was still in hospital, under police guard, after being shot.
- The other will appear in court on Friday.
Two of the four men accused of murdering a Strand constable on Christmas morning appeared in the Strand Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
The men involved are Nelson Motumi, 27, Bongisizwe Dyongo, 26, and Athenkosi Matutu, 21.
The fourth man arrested was due in the seaside town's court on 30 December.
Motumi was remanded in absentia because he was still in hospital and under police guard. Dyongo and Matutu appeared in court.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said the police officer was shot in Lwandle, not long after his shift ended at 06:00.
He was robbed and stabbed by four men.
The constable managed to fire a shot in defence, but the attackers made off with his gun, leaving him to die.
The man shot by the late constable was the first to be traced - and the other three arrests followed.
READ | Police unions call for urgent action after Christmas cop killings
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said police murders were a long-standing matter, which the union was discussing with the police ministry.
He added that officers were "being killed in large numbers" and that there was "no plan … to deal with police killings".
According to the latest quarterly crime statistics, between July and September, there were 22 police officers killed across the country. During the same three-month period last year, 24 officers were killed.
Most of the officers killed this year - 18 - were off-duty at the time.
Four police officers were killed while on duty.
The officers' names have not been released, out of respect for their families, the police said.
