The family of traffic officer Desmond Arumugam is calling for the maximum sentence after his killer was convicted in the Durban High Court last week.

Philakahle Hloniphani Dladla (26) was found guilty of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, hijacking and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Arumugam’s brother, Buffy Arumugam, said the family had followed the case from the first day of the trial.

“We are still heartbroken. We were devastated when he was killed. It does not bring him back, but we are happy that justice will be served. He was the pillar of our family, someone who always kept us together,” said Buffy.

Arumugam, a father of three, was killed in November last year near the N2 Groutville off-ramp. He had stopped to assist after noticing a taxi pulled over beneath a bridge.

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It was later revealed that the taxi had been hijacked by Dladla, who posed as a passenger before holding the driver and passengers at gunpoint.

When Arumugam approached the vehicle to offer help, Dladla opened fire, hitting him several times in the upper body.

The officer attempted to return to his vehicle but was followed and shot again. Dladla then fled the scene in the hijacked taxi.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in Thembeni, between the N2 and Groutville.

Arumugam is survived by his three children, aged 25, 22 and 15.

The family now awaits the sentencing, scheduled for January 13.

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