Durban cop accused of killing a suspect says he's being targeted in jail by inmates he arrested

A Durban police officer accused of killing a suspect and hiding his body said on Wednesday there had been two attempts on his life since his incarceration.

“While I was still a detective,  I was dealing with serious cases and many of the people I arrested are inside Westville. They have been made aware that I’m incarcerated and there have since been two incidents where they have tried to hurt me,” said Sgt Ayanda Ntombela.

The 42-year-old was testifying during his bail application at the Pinetown magistrate's court on Wednesday, where he is facing charges of kidnapping, premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.

It is alleged that on August 21, Ntombela took Sihle Mtshare, 27, from his Dassenhoek home for questioning. Mtshare never returned home and his body was later found in a drain in Camperdown.

Ntombela was arrested on September 8 and has been in custody since.

Wednesday marked his second court appearance.

The state changed the initial murder charge of murder to premeditated murder which the defence described as an “ambush”.

On Wednesday, proceedings got off to slow start as the state wanted a postponement since they had a new prosecutor who asked for time to familiarise herself with the case.

The defence opposed the postponement, claiming the state had said on record it was ready to proceed on Monday.

The court adjourned briefly for the state to establish if the new prosecutor would be able proceed with the case, and returned when she got the go-ahead to proceed.

Ntombela

Ntombela revealed he had tendered his resignation on September 8, the same day he handed himself over at the Pinetown police station after hearing he was wanted, initially for kidnapping.

He testified he had two wives who live with him in his family home in Mpumalanga, Hammersdale — along with his 62-year old mother and six children. He said he had 11 children in total — between the ages of 24 and 2 months. The children are from five women, three of whom are unemployed. Eight of his children still rely on him for financial support.

“I would like the court to please be considerate to the fact that I am a father to so many children that I have to support and pay school fees for, including the ones I’m paying maintenance for through the courts,” he said.

His assets included a car he was still paying for and five cattle.

He said he could not be a flight risk as his whole life was where he lived and he was not close to any of his relatives who lived outside the province. He also said he could not interfere with the witnesses as he did not know them.

The prosecutor said Ntombela could not say he did know the witnesses when he “had a one-on-one” session with the witness who had pointed him out and he had submitted in an affidavit that he knew the Phungula family.

“I don’t know that witness because there has never been an instance where I had a one-on-one with anyone who pointed me out. It might have happened that someone pointed me out but I was not made aware of that,” he replied.

Ntombela's portrayal of being a father who provided for his children was shot down as the prosecution pointed out he was paying maintenance through courts in some cases.

The court was told the children would survive without him as he was not their primary caregiver.

His bail application was postponed to Thursday when the investigating officer is expected to take the stand.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.