Durban - A MAN wanted for the murder of a KwaZulu-Natal policeman tried to dispose of a gun thought to be the murder weapon by flushing it down a toilet.
The suspect’s desperate attempt to get rid of the gun, believed to be one of the weapons used in a shooting spree that left a well-known Kranskop detective dead on Friday, failed as the Hawks and the K9 unit closed in on him.
The man was traced to Newlands East, where he was allegedly hiding after the shooting spree outside a shisa nyama outlet in Kranskop on Tuesday.
A bystander was also killed when he was caught in the hail of bullets.
The investigation and manhunt - which led to the arrests of suspects in Durban and Pietermaritzburg - have been lauded by Police Minister Bheki Cele and commissioner Khehla Sitole.
Off-duty Kranskop Constable Thandoluhle Mhlongo and bystander Mazwi Zuke were shot dead when the policeman, known as “Ndo”, left the shisa nyama to investigate a vehicle that was being driven recklessly down the street.
When he walked out, he was fired on by the occupants of the vehicle.
He managed to pull out his service pistol, but two men got out of the vehicle and continued firing at him, killing him.
Another off-duty police officer, who was in the vicinity, responded to the sound of gunfire and wounded two of the gunmen.
However, their accomplices dragged them into the vehicle and fled, leaving Mhlongo and Zuke dead.
The police recovered a charred Mercedes-Benz with two bodies believed to be of those wounded in the exchange of gunfire in Umvoti.
Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said that during investigations, the team responded to information that one of the suspects was seen in the vicinity of central Pietermaritzburg.
“They caught up with him after a short pursuit. The second suspect was apprehended in Durban and the third in Newlands, where an unlicensed firearm was retrieved after he tried to flush it down the toilet.”
Cele condemned the murders.
“Nothing must divert our men and women in blue from creating a safe environment for all the people of South Africa,” he said.
He welcomed the arrests, saying they were a sign of the commitment to enforcing the law. “We will continue to stamp the authority of the state by arresting and prosecuting those who commit such heinous crimes,” he said.
Sazi Mhlongo, the policeman’s father, said the family were relieved that his son’s alleged killers had been apprehended, but would not celebrate until they were convicted.
The men are expected to appear in the Kranskop Magistrate’s Court soon.