Durban — Police rounded up three suspected killers of a young police officer in a matter of a few days.
The suspects are expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks spokesperson Captain Bonnie Nxumalo said that the three men, aged between 18 and 30, are expected to appear in the Melmoth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, for the murder of a police officer earlier this month.
“On July 4, 2023, Sergeant Wiseman Sihle Masuku, 33, was shot by unknown gunmen at Bedlane village in Melmoth. He was taken to hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, where he succumbed to his injuries a few days later,” Nxumalo said.
She said that the incident was reported to the police, which prompted an investigation by the Richards Bay-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation.
“A multi-disciplinary operation, which consisted of the Hawks, the Empangeni SAPS Task Team and the King Cetshwayo District Task Team, worked tirelessly in search of the suspects from the night of July 16, 2023, until Tuesday, July 18, 2023.
“The suspects were arrested and charged with murder,” Nxumalo said.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, last month, the Scottburgh High Court sentenced Sithembiso Mbona, 27, Saziso Khambule, 27, and Nhlakanipho Ndovela, 25, for the murder of Warrant Officer Thulani Ngwabe.
At the time, KZN Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said that on November 3, 2019, Ngwabe’s lifeless body was found on the railway lines near Port Shepstone beach with multiple stab wounds.
Ngwabe was stationed at Margate Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.
Mhlongo said that Hawks members first arrested his wife, Nonkululeko Ngwabe, 48, in December 2019. Her arrest led to the arrest of her accomplices, whom she hired to kill her husband. They were arrested in the Murchison area near Port Shepstone.
Then on June 7, 2021, the Pietermaritzburg High Court convicted and sentenced Nonkululeko to 22 years imprisonment for the brutal murder of her husband. The three pleaded not guilty, and their trial continued until they were found guilty.
Mbona and Khambule were sentenced to life imprisonment each, and Ndovela was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. The court further denied them leave to appeal, Mhlongo said.
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