Two police detectives are facing charges of murder after allegedly shooting and killing a man on January 10.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) spokesperson Moses Dlamini said that on the day in question, it is alleged that three police constables went out to the Zaifontein area, near Ladysmith, following up on information concerning an assault (GBH) suspect.
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“They were in the company of the victim (complainant) in the assault GBH case. When they arrived in Zaifontein, they parked the vehicle far away from the KwaMtshali homestead, where the suspect was alleged to be residing, and walked to the said homestead, leaving the complainant in the vehicle.”
It is believed that they opened the gate and got into the premises, where they found two African males.
When the two men saw the police dressed in civilian clothes, armed with firearms, they ran away and the police chased them.
Two police officers allegedly fired shots, fatally wounding one of the men, who was not in possession of any dangerous instrument.
“It was later discovered that the police had shot and killed the wrong person,” said Dlamini.
The constables were arrested the same day and were detained.
They appeared in court on January 11 and were granted bail of R2000 each.
The next court appearance is on February 25.
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