Sydenham mass murder suspect arrested after 4-year manhunt
A suspect is due in the Durban Magistrate’s Court tomorrow after detectives traced him to a hiding place in Melmoth.
A four-year police manhunt has ended with the arrest of a suspect wanted in connection with the killing of nine people in Sydenham, KZN, in October 2021.
The Witness reports that the suspect was arrested in the Obuka area of Melmoth last night by KZN Murder and Robbery Unit detectives.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the suspect had been elusive, but relentless police efforts eventually led detectives to his hiding place.
“He will appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court tomorrow (September 25), on multiple counts of murder,” Netshiunda said.
9 killed in 2021
On October 16, 2021, six people were shot and killed at a house in the Palmiet Road informal settlement in Sydenham.
Three more people were shot and killed in two separate incidents a short distance from the scene on the same day.
Police said the incidents were allegedly carried out by the same suspects.
The case was subsequently handed over to the Murder and Robbery Unit for investigation, with two suspects identified.
One of the suspects was traced to Empangeni, where he allegedly resisted arrest and was fatally wounded during a shoot-out with police.
The second suspect remained on the run.
Detectives eventually traced him to the Obuka area in Melmoth, where he was arrested last night.
Unit also investigating 11 KwaMakhutha killings
Netshiunda said that the same Murder and Robbery Unit has now been tasked with investigating the mass shooting in the Ziko area of KwaMakhutha on Tuesday night (September 22) in which 11 people were killed.
Police have been following several leads in the investigation and have appealed to anyone with information that could help identify and locate the suspects to come forward.
The KwaMakhutha shooting left 11 people dead and three injured after gunmen allegedly opened fire on people gathered inside a house.
Police have said the motive has not yet been established.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111 or approach their nearest police station.
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