KZN Police Nab Hitman As Sergeant Arrested Earlier for Cop Fiancee’s Murder in Umzimkhulu

• An alleged hitman has been arrested and charged with the murder of a female sergeant in Umzimkhulu in April 2024
• The Hawks first arrested Sergeant Ntombi Mbanjwa's fiancé, a fellow officer, Sergeant Ntokozo Mngqithi, for her murder
• KZN Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Simphiwe Mhlongo told Briefly News Mhlongo is facing an unrelated corruption case

UMZIMKHULU — The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), on Thursday, 16 January 2025, arrested an alleged hitman linked to the murder of a KwaZulu-Natal female police officer.

The suspect, 36, was apprehended at Mpolweni area near Pietermaritzburg. He is expected to appear in the Umzimkhulu Magistrate's Court on 17 January.

Sergeant, hitman nabbed for murder

On Thursday, 11 April 2024, two gunmen attacked Sergeant Ntombi Mbanjwa at her home in Umzimkhulu, shooting her multiple times before fleeing.

KZN Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Simphiwe Mhlongo said Mbanjwa, 33, was the only person home then.

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Later, when he returned, her fiancé, Sergeant Ntokozo Mngqithi, with whom she was based at Umzimkhulu police station, stumbled upon her dead body.

The Hawks' Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit first arrested Mngqithi, a fellow officer, on Monday, 25 November 2024, after thoroughly investigating his alleged involvement in the crime.

Mhlongo told Briefly News that in addition to Mhlongo and his co-accused, the police sought more suspects.

"There were [reportely] three people in the vehicle. Two [of them] were the [alleged] hitmen, while a third was the getaway driver. Police are searching for two more suspects for [Mbanjwa's] murder," he said.

Mngqithi, 34, appeared briefly in the Umzimkhulu Magistrate's Court the day after his arrest, and he was remanded in custody.

He took to the dock for a second time on 3 December, facing conspiracy to murder and murder, before the case was postponed to 19 December for a formal bail application. The state opposed bail, and he was remanded in custody.

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Meanwhile, the Hawks had also been investigating corruption and defeating the ends of justice against him, arresting and charging Mngqithi on 10 December.

"He was charged in an unrelated culpable homicide matter after seven people were killed in a truck accident in Umzimkhulu in November 2022.

"He [allegedly] tried to extort R60,000 from a truck driver, who paid him R10,000 in instalments for Mgqithi to hide and distort the evidence, including dashcam footage of the accident," Mhlongo told Briefly News.

"An instruction was issued for an investigation into the culpable homicide case when he was arrested for his fiancee's murder."

Mngithi will next appear on 22 January.

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KZN DPCI Provincial Head, Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona, welcomed the arrest and congratulated the members on their good work.

Cop turns himself in for double killing

In related news, Briefly News reported that an Embalenhle constable handed himself to the police for an alleged double murder on Saturday, 11 January.

It follows the discovery by an elderly woman of what appeared to be the bodies of two lifeless men a few meters apart near the road.

Source: Briefly News