Durban – A Ntuzuma policeman who allegedly used his police van to hijack a supermarket manager is being investigated by his colleagues – who appear not to know of his previous brushes with the law.
The Daily News has established that at one stage in his 20-year career, Warrant Officer Sibusiso Ntombela, 46, faced charges of attempted murder and robbery.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed the charges.
But police had no details of these cases – or their outcomes – and it appears they may have misplaced his identity number, Zwane said.
Ntombela, who was arrested on Thursday, had been sought since April 21 after he allegedly used a bakkie in the hijack and abduction of Model Spar manager Joey Pillay, 39, after he worked a double shift.
Pillay was in Felix Dlamini (Brickfield) Road when he was instructed to stop by the occupants of a police vehicle, which had its lights flashing and siren blaring.
CCTV footage shows the police vehicle circling the store several times. Police said Pillay was robbed of his shop and safe keys, his cellphone, wedding ring and cash.
His vehicle was hijacked, and he was forced to get into one of the hijackers’ vehicles. He was later dropped off in Cato Crest.
The suspects, however, could not drive his vehicle because of the anti-hijacking system.
Pillay got help at a tavern.
Ntombela’s co-accused, Bonginhlanhla Kenneth Dlamini, 33, was also arrested and Pillay’s shop keys – and a police bunny jacket – were allegedly found in his possession.
They both face charges of hijacking, robbery with aggravated circumstances and abduction, and are due to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Across KwaZulu-Natal, 173 police officers have previous convictions for crimes such as rape and murder, said national police spokesman David Barritt. He said 13 had resigned, but only seven of the remainder had yet to undergo the inquiry process.
The rest – 153 police officers – have lost their cases but their fate hangs in the balance after the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union asked the Eastern Cape High Court for an interdict halting the process nationwide. Judgment in that matter will be handed down in two weeks…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
