A suspect who has been sought for several murders and attempted murder was fatally wounded on Saturday following a shootout with law enforcement officers in Kwadengezi, KwaZulu-Natal.
The members of Serious Organised Crime were tasked with the investigation into the murder of Captain Molefe who was gunned down in his vehicle in the early hours of Monday morning 14 December 2020 whilst he was in full uniform on his way to work. The 72-hour activation plan was initiated immediately compromising of Crime Intelligence, National Intervention Unit, and K9 Pietermaritzburg. The members worked tirelessly around the clock to trace the suspect who was located at Kwanyuswa in Botha Hill.
The information received from Crime Intelligence was operationalised and with the assistance of the National Intervention Unit and K9 Pietermaritzburg. The suspect’s room was penetrated and upon realising what was happening, the suspect opened fire at the members who responded and fatally wounding him. A black 9mm Beretta pistol with two magazines was recovered on the scene.
Preliminary investigation has since established that the deceased suspect was also sought for six murder cases including the murder of Sgt Zulu who was gunned down whilst in his private vehicle with his wife in front of his gate on 22 May 2020 and attempted murder of a policeman.
The Acting National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lt General Tebello Mosikili applauded the members for a job well done. She indicated that it was unfortunate that there was a loss of life and encouraged the team to leave no stone unturned in order to bring all those responsible for the killing of police officers to book.
Further information received alleges that the deceased suspect was a hitman for and conducting taxi and political hits and might not be working alone. An investigation into his involvement in other crimes and his accomplices continues.