KwaZulu-Natal man guilty of killing a policeman at a roadblock in Durban

A KwaZulu-Natal man, 26, has been found guilty of killing a Durban policeman, Const Siphelele Cele, who flagged down a stolen vehicle during a roadblock in Musgrave in January 2020.

This ruling was delivered by Durban high court judge Mfuniselwa Nkosi on Tuesday.

The state had alleged that Ntuthuko Mabaso from uMlazi was also guilty of a raft of other charges.

Cele, who succumbed to injuries at St Augustine's hospital, was on official duty in full police uniform and in the company  of his crew members when he stopped a vehicle that Mabaso was travelling in. 

The car was an e-hailing vehicle and Mabaso was a passenger. The driver was stopped and was asked to get out of the car. . He did.

Once he was out of the vehicle, Mabaso shot at Cele. He then fled the scene in the e-hailing vehicle which was later found abandoned. 

In another unrelated incident, the state had alleged that Mabaso had hijacked a VW polo vehicle with  FC02SW-GP registration, while in the company  of other assailants in July 2017. 

He pleaded not guilty throughout the trial.

The state alleged that Mabaso had arrived at the residence of the complainant where they accosted him, thereafter injuring him.

They then fled with the complainant's vehicle.

In November 2017, members of the police crime prevention unit who were working  in uMlazi, had proceeded to Mabaso's place of residence where they  found him in possession of a firearm with the serial number filed off.

He was later arrested at a Pietermaritzburg bus terminal while waiting to board a bus to Johannesburg.

In his possession was the firearm and ammunition.

The magistrate acquitted Mabaso of robbery with aggravating circumstances in a matter in which Mabaso was accused of assaulting Njabulo Didi, who is also a policeman.

Nkosi adjourned the matter to Wednesday to allow Mabaso's Legal Aid attorney to take instructions from Mabaso.

TimesLIVE