Police officers were following up information about the suspects who were wanted for the killing of the Ndwedwe Acting Station Commander Lieutenant Colonel Jabulani Ndawonde who was killed last month by the ruthless killers.
The information led the police to Maqongqo, an area that falls under Bishopstowe policing precinct in Pietermaritzburg, where four suspects were seen traveling in a vehicle. The police tried to intercept the suspects but they were met by a hail of bullets. During the gun battle, the suspects abandoned their vehicles and fled into the sugarcane fields.
Two suspects were fatally wounded during the exchange of gunfire. A canine was shot dead and the other two canines were rushed to a veterinary clinic after they were shot by the group of thugs. Another suspect was found dead in the sugarcane fields. Two rifles and four pistols were recovered at the scene. The investigation conducted revealed that the suspect’s vehicle was stolen. The suspects were positively linked to the murder of the police officer as well as other string of murder cases committed in KwaNdengezi and surrounding areas. The police are still searching for the remaining suspect.
“The recovery of such firearms at the hands of the criminals is a testimony that we are turning the tide against crime. We will make sure that we hunt all the criminals who are terrorizing the citizens of this province,” said the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.