Faith Ogle, the widow of a slain Durban metro police officer, has finally found closure. After three years of heartbreak, unanswered questions and a painful wait for justice, the mastermind behind her husband’s killing has been sentenced to life in prison, reports the Southlands Sun.

“For far too long my family and I have carried the pain of losing my husband while waiting for justice. Today that wait came to an end as the men responsible for his murder were sentenced. It cannot erase our grief but it affirms that his life mattered and that justice has been served,” she said.

The sentencing of Phakamani Mlungisi Mpanza and Mzomuhle Lawrance Gamede at the Durban High Court last Wednesday (July 15) brings to an end a painful chapter for the family of acting superintendent Errol Ogle, 52, who was shot and killed on July 20, 2023.

Court hands down sentence

Although Mpanza did not pull the trigger, Judge Garth Harrison ruled that he acted as the mastermind by orchestrating the armed heist that led to the killing. Mpanza was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and three years for kidnapping.

His co-accused, Gamede, was sentenced to 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and three years for kidnapping, with his sentences running concurrently.

A disgruntled revenge plot

The court heard that the incident stemmed from a revenge plot against Chester Butcheries. Mpanza and Gamede had both been dismissed from the company after participating in an illegal strike.

State prosecutor Advocate Bonginkosi Mbokazi presented evidence from key state witness ‘Jam-Jam’, who revealed that the men originally planned to rob a meat truck outside the company’s Congella premises. However, security guards distracted them, forcing them to alter their plans.

On the morning of the murder, Mpanza and Jam-Jam travelled to Umlazi to fetch a hitman identified only as ‘Spha’. They then drove to the M7 Freeway near Queensburgh to meet Gamede and plot an ambush on the company’s meat truck at the Hans Dettman Highway off-ramp.

Jam-Jam was instructed to follow the truck and block it on the freeway. Once the truck came to a halt, Mpanza, Gamede and Spha jumped out, at which point Jam-Jam fled the scene.

A fatal patrol encounter

When Jam-Jam returned shortly afterwards to check on the heist, the hijacked truck had only moved a few metres. The vehicle’s anti-theft system had locked the gears, bringing it to a complete standstill facing oncoming traffic.

As the hijackers abandoned the immobilised truck, Acting Superintendent Ogle was travelling on the M7. Spotting the hazard, he stopped his marked patrol car a few metres away to investigate.

Mpanza, Gamede and Spha immediately advanced towards the police vehicle. Spha shot and killed Ogle while he was still seated in his car, before stealing the officer’s state firearm and fleeing in his hijacked patrol car. The vehicle was later found abandoned on Stapleton Road in Pinetown.

Swift investigation and ballistic proof

Following the murder, a joint operation between the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit and the metro police’s special operations directorate tracked down the suspects within 72 hours. Mpanza was arrested in Estcourt, Gamede in Umlazi and a third suspect, Ncube, in Durban central.

The gunman, Spha, evaded capture until September 2024, when police cornered him at a hideout in Q-Section, Umlazi. He was killed in the ensuing shootout. A firearm recovered at the scene was sent for ballistic testing, which Warrant Officer Sibusiso Ntshangase confirmed was Ogle’s stolen state weapon.

Timeline

July 20, 2023: Durban metro police officer Errol Ogle is shot and killed in the line of duty.

Between Saturday, July 22, and Monday, July 24, 2023: The perpetrators are arrested. A third accused is later acquitted.

March 24, 2026: Mpanza is convicted of murder, hijacking, robbery and kidnapping. The matter is postponed to March 30 for sentencing. Gamede is acquitted of murder, but convicted of hijacking, kidnapping and robbery.

March 30, 2026: There is chaos in court, with Mpanza refusing to be sentenced, saying he did not understand the proceedings.

July 15, 2026: After several postponements, Mpanza and Gamede are sentenced.

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