A former constable has denied robbing a store in Richmond.
Image: File
A former KwaMashu police constable, Siyanda Harrison Mhlongo, on trial at Durban High Court for robbery and murder of police officers, claims that Hawks members opened fire without provocation when they arrived at a safe house in Ntuzuma.
Mhlongo, who is charged alongside Khayelihle Mthethwa and Mzwandile Mazibuko, is also facing charges for the attempted murder of Captain Deendayalan Govender, Warrant Officer Viresh Pandutoay, and Sergeant Ntokozo Ndlela.
The charges stem from a shootout between the Hawks and the suspects on August 18, 2024, following a robbery at the Royal Wholesalers store in Richmond.
Mhlongo testified on Wednesday that he was off-duty and went to the house (safe house) on Ngwenya Road in Ntuzuma to retrieve his car, which he had lent to a colleague and friend named Sergeant Mbhele, who had since died.
Mbhele had called him, reporting ignition problems. Mhlongo, however, discovered the issue was a missing chip in the car key, which he later found.
Upon entering the house, which later became a crime scene, he found about 12 men conversing and noted a tense atmosphere. After accepting a cold drink, he stepped outside, followed by Mbhele after Mhlongo peeped inside.
Mhlongo asked Mbhele to call the driver of a vehicle blocking him, as he wanted to leave. While talking, he saw an unmarked white vehicle with strong blue lights approaching. Looking down from the upper-level house, he saw the car's windows lowered, and a rifle pointed out.
Mhlongo claims the police in the vehicle started shooting before they got out.
“I stood up and raised both my hands, and said they should stop shooting because I am a police officer. At that moment, I realised that I had been shot in my hand,” he told the court.
Everyone in the house, including Mbhele, fled. Mhlongo ran in a different direction, jumping a fence and dropping his service pistol, which he did not stop to retrieve. He hid in a neighbour's shack.
The neighbour later gave him a lift as people started pointing at the house. Eventually, a person named Sibiya picked him up and took him to Mount Edgecombe Hospital.
Mhlongo said police arrived at the hospital, and he was then discharged and apprehended. He alleged the police assaulted and suffocated him until he confessed to being at the Royal Wholesalers store in Richmond, stating that he had no choice.
He denied being at the Richmond robbery, stating: “I got to know of Richmond because of this case. They offered me to be a Section 204 witness, but I declined because I don’t know anything about this case.”
He also claims the State witness, Mzomuhle Dlamini, who testified to seeing him at Richmond, was lying.
The State alleges that on August 18, Mhlongo and Mbhele were in full police uniform. They entered the Royal Wholesalers store under the pretense of a legitimate raid before committing the robbery with their accomplices.
Hawks Provincial Commander Lieutenant Colonel Deendayalan Govender previously informed the court that the safe house on Ngwenya Road is the residence of a known cash-in-transit heist suspect, identified only as Zungu.
The trial continues.