A months-long manhunt for a fugitive who escaped lawful custody in Richards Bay last year came to a bloody end last week.
Fugitive Lungani Valentine Mkhize (25) was killed during a shoot-out with police in Verulam outside Durban on Thursday.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Mtubatuba traffic cop’s killer escapes lawful custody
Mkhize (25) escaped from police custody on 18 August last year after having been convicted of the murder of two Mtubatuba Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officers in 2021.
Mkhize and his accomplice Sphelele Gwala, who was also convicted of the murders, assaulted a police captain on the head while he was transporting them to the Mtunzini High Court for sentencing.
The daring, dramatic escape took place under the N2 bridge on the John Ross highway outside Empangeni.
During the escape, Gwala was immobilised and recaptured after having been shot in the leg, but Mkhize managed to flee. He has been at large since.
On the day of the 2021 murders, RTI officers Sizwe Sithole (48) and Mxolisi Lamula (36) were gunned down on the N2 in the Nkodibe area in Mtubatuba.
They were sitting inside their marked traffic vehicle, which was parked on the Nkodibe on-ramp, at around 6pm.
They were shot at close range by Mkhize and Gwala. They died instantly, their vehicle riddled with bullet holes.
About 15 cartridges from a pistol and an R5 or AK47 were found at the scene.
Mkhize and Gwala were arrested in September 2021 and charged with double murder.
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