KZN police seize illegal firearms and arrest suspects in Mthwalume murder case
KwaZulu-Natal police had a busy weekend, seizing high-powered firearms and making key arrests in a murder investigation on the province’s South Coast.
In one operation, officers recovered eight unlicensed firearms including four rifles during targeted raids in Mbumbulu, Msinga, and Bergville. In another, detectives from Hibberdene cracked a murder case in Mthwalume, arresting two suspects accused of killing a 64-year-old woman and robbing her home.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza said officers remained committed to “ridding communities of unlawfully owned firearms”.
“The dedication by police officers has resulted in the recovery of eight unlicensed firearms, including four rifles,” Magwaza said.
He noted that the largest recovery happened in the early hours of Saturday, when officers, acting on intelligence, searched a house in Mbumbulu.
“After the occupant of the house consented to the house being searched, police found five firearms, which included three AK-47 assault rifles, one R1 rifle, a 9mm pistol, as well as 93 rounds of ammunition of different calibres,” Magwaza said.
Police believe the firearms were being kept in a room by a man who has since fled. His whereabouts are unknown.
Two days earlier, the Provincial Tracing Team arrested a 38-year-old man at Emabovini in Msinga for possession of an unlicensed pistol and ammunition. On the same day, Public Order Policing officers made two further arrests in the Matsheni area.
A 48-year-old suspect was found with a roll of copper wire and an unlicensed firearm with 11 rounds of ammunition.
At another site, a 42-year-old man was found with an unlicensed firearm, two magazines, and 38 rounds of ammunition.
“The arrested suspects appeared in Msinga and Bergville Magistrates’ Courts on Friday and are currently out on bail,” Magwaza said.
Meanwhile, in Mthwalume, police arrested two men aged 24 and 36 for the murder of Khanyisile Ngwane, whose body was discovered in a pool of blood at her home in Nhlabamkhosi 14 October 14.
“A 24-year-old suspect was arrested in the Nyangwini area in possession of items suspected to have been taken from the late Mrs Ngwane’s home,” said Magwaza. “On the same day, police arrested a 36-year-old man also for the murder of Mrs Ngwane.”
Both suspects are expected to appear in the Mzumbe Magistrate’s Court on Monday facing charges of murder and possession of property suspected to be stolen.