Gunfight with ATM robbery gang relived

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Published May 5, 2015

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Durban - A Richmond police officer has recalled how, outnumbered and outgunned, he bravely defended himself against eight rifle-wielding bank robbers as his colleagues fell to the ground, wounded, around him.

Sergeant Gcinumuzi Popoyi told the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday how he had tried to run for cover in the hail of gunfire, and had witnessed his colleague, Constable Sbonelo Mpandla, being shot.

Popoyi was testifying at the trial of three alleged members of the gang that tried to rob guards loading cash in an ATM at Capitec Bank in Shepstone Street, Richmond, on January 27 last year.

“He screamed and fell to the ground, and as the suspects advanced towards him, with their high calibre weapons, I tried to shoot back,” Popoyi said.

He told Judge Rishi Seegobin how he had seen Mpandla writhing in pain, unable to move out of the line of fire.

Popoyi explained that he could not see his other two colleagues, and even though he realised he might be alone, he fought back.

“I decided to shoot back, and whatever was meant to happen, would happen,” he said.

The sergeant said he was shocked when he saw his other colleague, Sergeant Thamsanqa Zondi, lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Zondi had been shot in the head.

“He was bleeding profusely and there was brain matter on the ground next to him,” Popoyi said, adding that it was only when one of the robbers was shot and wounded that they decided to flee.

“I saw some of the suspects get into their vehicle and leave. That is when I ran to Mpandla and knew that we needed to rush him to the clinic for medical assistance,” he said.

Thulani Doncabe, 40, Siboniso Mpanza, 20, and Sandile Shongwe, 34, have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, among others.

They are charged with the murders of Sergeant Thamsanqa Zondi, the son of Inkosi Nsikayezwe Zondi, and G4S security guard Izak Phungula.

Phungula was shot at the ATM and Zondi was shot when he and his colleagues cornered the suspects after the botched heist.

Three of the gang members were shot dead by police.

Daily News

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