DURBAN - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in KwaZulu-Natal arrested a 22-year-old man on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the murder of a police sergeant who was stabbed to death last month.
The Hawks’ KZN regional spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase confirmed the suspect’s arrest on Thursday and said he was allegedly linked to the murder of Sergeant Nduduzo Sibiya, 36.
Nkwalase said that the suspect will appear before the Verulam Magistrates’ Court on Friday, where he will face charges of murder and robbery.
Sibiya was off duty when he was stabbed to death on April 11 following an altercation in Verulam, north of Durban, in an incident in which he proceeded to help a woman in distress.
He was stationed at Operational Response Services (ORS) Durban Harbour.
Police reports at the time stated that three suspects followed Sibiya after the incident, stabbed him and robbed him of his service pistol. Sibiya was declared dead in hospital shortly thereafter.
The sergeant’s death prompted the Hawks to take action, which led to the arrest of two suspects, aged 18 and 25, on April 13 in the Bergville area, western KZN. They were brought up on charges of murder and robbery, Hawks Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said.
The service pistol that was stolen from the murdered police officer was recovered in the Mayville area after the arrest.
“Police are hot on the heels of the third suspect,” said Mhlongo in a statement last month.
Sibiya’s death falls into one of the most dangerous times for policemen, as the latest SAPS crime statistics for the fourth quarter of 2020/2021 show that eight out of 24 policemen murdered in South Africa were from KZN. Four of them were off duty at the time of death.
ANA