Constable Minenhle Makhaye Denied Bail, Police Officer Linked With Deadly Hijacking and July Unrest

• Durban police officer Minenhle Makhaye was found with cards stolen during two separate crimes
• Makhaye was found with over 200 bank cards, with some stolen during the 2021 July unrest
• The court head that senior police officers attempted to get the case struck off the roll in Pinetown

Constable Minenhle Makhaye has been denied bail. The police officer was arrested after he was found in possession of a bank card stolen during a hijacking. 11-year-old Zarah Ramsamy was killed in that incident.

He was traced after he used the card to buy alcohol the day after the hijacking.

Makhaye linked to July unrest

While police maintained that Makhaye wasn’t linked to the deadly hijacking and only stole the card when he had to drive the vehicle back to the station, more information coming to light paints a very different picture of the officer.

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At the time of his arrest, Makhaye was also found with 272 bank cards. It’s now been revealed that some of the cards were stolen during the 2021 July unrest. Some cards were taken from Absa at Bridge City in KwaMashu, which was burnt down during the unrest. Others were stolen from African Bank in the same mall.

Police tried to influence case

Makhaye will appear in court once more in December, but there was a time when his case was almost struck off the court roll.

Lead investigator, Warrant Officer Sivan Naidoo, explained that high-ranking police officers had tried to influence the case. Naidoo said the matter had to be heard at the Durban Court because officers were trying to get it struck off the roll at the Pinetown Magistrate's Court.

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He added that they received information that members of Makhaye’s family held senior positions in the SAPS and tried to use their influence to make the case disappear.

“Without disclosing their names, one of them is working at Nanda police station and the other is at Umbilo,” Naidoo said.

Constable not linked to hijacking

Briefly News recently reported that police denied that a 27-year-old constable was linked to a deadly hijacking in the Cato Manor area.

The officer was arrested and found in possession of a bank card that was stolen during the hijacking, which left an 11-year-old dead. Police explained that the constable only stole the card from the vehicle when he was sent to retrieve it after the hijackers abandoned it.

Source: Briefly News