Suspects killed in hail of bullets

Two Umlazi brothers and their cousin, who were wanted in connection with the murder of a policeman on Friday night, were shot and killed by officers on Tuesday.

Musawakhe, 36, and Xolisani Ngcobo, 24, and their cousin Simphiwe Moye Shozi, 26, died in a hail of bullets after apparently opening fire on the police trying to arrest them.

Police said the three were suspected of involvement in the murder of Pinetown Captain Mervin Reddy, who was shot and killed in the driveway of his Newlands West home on May 6. His cellphones, gun and vehicle were taken.

Police Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge said Durban organised crime unit officers received a tip-off early on Tuesday that three men wanted for Reddy’s murder were hiding at a home in Umlazi’s J section. The officers knocked on the door of the room the men were in and were refused access, said Mdunge.

The police then broke down the door and were met with gunfire from the men.

“The officers returned fire and all three men were killed.”

Mdunge said three guns and two of Reddy’s cellphones were recovered from the room.

“The men were known hijackers in the greater Durban area. Inquest dockets will be opened in connection with their deaths. The police also notified the ICD (Independent Complaints Directorate),” he said.

The Ngcobo family, however, disputed Mdunge’s version of events. A relative of the men, who would not be named, said he was woken by loud footsteps: “Police kicked the door open and opened fire on them. When my mother and I asked what was happening, the police led us to the main house. They told us to sit and relax, and then locked the door. The shooting went on. I was then called to identify the bodies.”

The Ngcobos’ father, Thokozani Ngcobo, said no one had told him why his sons were shot: “My sons were good kids … I did not suspect that they were involved in crime.”

Mdunge responded that the officers had only retaliated when the men had opened fire.

The organised crime unit has come under criticism for deaths at their hands of suspects wanted for police officers’ murders. Criminologists have labelled some of the deaths of suspects in their custody “suspicious”.

Meanwhile, the man arrested for the murders of a policewoman and her fiancé told the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday that he wanted to plead guilty.

Zwelihle Gumede, 32, was arrested for the murders of harbour unit Constable Noluthando Zakwe, 25, who was seven months pregnant, and her fiancé, S’bahle Buthelezi, a clerk at the Greenwood Park police station.

The matter was adjourned to May 23 for a formal bail application. - The Mercury