Police in KwaZulu-Natal say the withdrawal of charges against the suspect who was arrested in connection with the killing of nine people in Sydenham in 2021 has been noted.

“The suspect was arrested through a warrant of arrest in Melmoth on September 23, and police will study the court’s reasons for withdrawal and work with the prosecution to have the charges reinstated,” said police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda.

He was expected to appear at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday, October 5.

Also read: Sydenham mass murder suspect arrested

Netshiunda added, “The arrest of the suspect led to another breakthrough when the investigation uncovered that another suspect, who is believed to be a mastermind and a shooter in the same 2021 Sydenham mass murder, is in prison serving a sentence on a separate murder case.”

In the initial report, police indicated that on October 16, 2021, six people were shot and killed at a house at Palmiet Road Informal Settlement in Sydenham. A short distance from the scene, three more people were shot and killed in two separate incidents on the same day.

The requisition process for the suspect to be formally charged is underway and he will be brought to court soon, police said.

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