A dramatic shootout between KZN police and two notorious murder suspects has resulted in the deaths of the suspects, who were wanted for at least four counts of murder within the Hillcrest policing precinct. According to police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the suspects were linked to the recent double murder of an 84-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl.
The suspects were shot dead at a residence on Mkhelekehleni Road at KwaNgcolosi in the early hours of Saturday morning. Netshiunda explained that police had gathered intelligence about the whereabouts of the suspects and when they arrived at the rondavel house in which the suspects were sleeping, a shootout ensued between police and the suspects. Two suspects were shot and fatally wounded during the shootout, and cases of attempted murder of police officers were opened for investigation.
Murder Suspects’ Reign of Terror
In a separate incident, three men have been sentenced to a combined 14 terms of life imprisonment plus 121 years in prison for killing several members of the Khumalo family in Plessislaer between October 2021 and October 2022. The men, Andile Wonderboy Ngcobo, Andile Sabelo Shezi, and Mongezi Nyathi, were found guilty of the murders and sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
According to the South African Police Service, the trio’s reign of terror started when they robbed a man of his firearm in Pietermaritzburg on 3 October 2021. Two weeks later, three Khumalo brothers were shot at Imbali Unit J in Plessislaer, resulting in the deaths of two of the brothers. The Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit detectives took over the investigation and made a breakthrough when they arrested Ngcobo, Shezi, and Nyathi for possession of three firearms.
Investigation and Sentencing
Ballistic reports linked the firearms with the murders of the two Khumalo brothers, and the three were subsequently charged for the murders. As the case was proceeding, the third of the Khumalo brothers, who had witnessed and survived the shooting, was killed along with his friend. The suspects’ elimination of witnesses continued when they killed the sole remaining witness, who was the sister of the slain Khumalo brothers, at a party in an incident in which three more people were also shot and killed.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi applauded the thorough investigation by police detectives, stating that the murders had instilled fear among the community of Plessislaer and that the police’s reactive capacity had brought justice and closure to the families of the victims.
- The suspects were wanted for at least four counts of murder within the Hillcrest policing precinct.
- Three men have been sentenced to a combined 14 terms of life imprisonment plus 121 years in prison for killing several members of the Khumalo family.
- The Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit detectives took over the investigation and made a breakthrough when they arrested the suspects for possession of three firearms.
For more information on the South African justice system, visit the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development website.
