A 37-year-old man suspected of being a professional assassin was arrested on his wedding day in Sundumbili, Mandeni on December 29.

He was arrested in connection with the murder of a taxi owner in June last year.

Police said the man was arrested when he was about to take his wedding vows and he was also linked to several taxi-related cases committed in Mandeni and surrounding areas.

Police also found eight guns and arrested two other men who were in the house with him.

“Police went to a house at Gcotsheni in Sundumbili where they spotted a group of people chanting and singing inside a rondavel. When they went to the house, there was a shootout between the

police and the people in the house. After the shootout, police entered the house and two men were arrested after they were found in possession of two revolvers with 16 rounds of ammunition.

They were detained for being in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition,” said KZN police spokesperson Jay Naicker.

Police also searched the premises and found six firearms, but the main suspect (the hitman) managed to escape during the shootout. The two men aged 24 and 29 appeared at the Nyoni Magistrates Court on December 30.

“Police returned to the homestead in the evening and found the hitman busy at his wedding ceremony, about to take his wedding vows.
He appeared at the Nyoni Magistrates’ Court and was remanded in custody until January 6.

It is suspected that he was involved in the murder of a taxi owner, Siyabonga Mbonambi (53). Mbonambi was shot and killed, apparently by two gunmen, at a Mandeni service station last June.

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