Hilton, KZN, police constable Samkelo Sithole (31) was murdered over a jacket in the early hours of Monday morning.

The Witness reports that the man accused of pulling the trigger has been arrested and appeared briefly in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court.

Skholiwe Ndlovu (39) was remanded in custody, and the matter was postponed to November 25 for a bail application.

Sithole, originally from Bulwer, had been in the police force for about six years, according to his family.

KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda says the off-duty constable had been drinking with friends at a house in Imbali Unit 3 when a jacket belonging to one of the friends allegedly went missing.

Sithole and his friends then got into a vehicle to look for the man suspected of taking the jacket.

Sithole approached Ndlovu, who allegedly fired a fatal shot at him without saying a word, at the corner of Mthombothi and FJ Sithole Road just after midnight on Monday.

“Plessislaer SAPS then arrested Ndlovu for the murder of an off-duty police officer,” says Netshiunda.

A family member, who did not want to be named, told The Witness that they were busy preparing for Sithole’s funeral.

“We are mourning. Condolences from extended family, neighbours and colleagues keep pouring in. We are busy preparing for his funeral.

“The justice system should take its course.

“Burying him will mean that ours is done,” said the family member.

He described Sithole as a ‘people’s person’ and a leader in folklore within both the family group and the community.

“We faced good and bad times growing up together,” he said.

uMngeni Municipality councillor Kate Janse van Rensburg, who had worked with Sithole on a few occasions, said his team spirit and enthusiasm reflected the security and cohesion within the Hilton area.

His contribution to community safety in Hilton was instrumental in keeping crime at bay.

“It is so sad that through his commitment to a safe community his life was taken,” Janse van Rensburg said.

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