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TAXI MEN ‘ARREST’ MURDER SUSPECT

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NHLANGANO – An alleged delayed response by the police became a major concern at the Nhlangano Taxi Rank on Sunday, resulting in taxi drivers taking the initiative to apprehend a dangerous criminal.


The 30-year-old suspect, who was wanted for the murder and possible rape of a female textile worker around Nyamane, had managed to evade police arrest for the past three months.


Police were only able to find the ex-convict on Sunday, shortly after 10am, with help from taxi drivers, in a dramatic citizen arrest which seemed to endorse the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) which is currently underway.


Drama


The drama saw a member of the public firing two warning shots to dissuade the suspect from running away.
Earlier on, the man had been spotted by commuters boarding a kombi from Nyamane, which was heading to Nhlangano.
It is understood that residents considered the man a significant safety threat in the area, which somehow explained why two elderly women elected to get off the kombi soon after the suspect got on board.


A call was swiftly made to the police, with the hope that they would intercept the kombi before it reached Nhlangano town.
However, a tense atmosphere reportedly prevailed inside the kombi until it reached the local kombi depot, where the driver alighted and notified his colleagues to keep the man’s movements in check while he went to the police station to report about the sighting of the wanted suspect.


According to witnesses, after getting off the kombi, the suspect went towards a popular bar where he reportedly bought a cigarette to smoke.


Bar


Onlookers suspected that the man later realised he was being followed as he left the bar in haste and took the direction towards one of the busy shopping centres around town.
He then disappeared until he was again spotted walking towards the local kombi rank, where he boarded one heading towards Mahamba, before changing his mind again.


The visibly hesitant man disembarked before the kombi drove off and chose another one travelling to Mathendele location, which eventually took off with him onboard.
The taxi drivers who had been following the man thereafter gave chase, and at the time they were in the company of a lone police officer they picked up around town.


But again the elusive man later stopped the driver after he had only covered about 600 metres and asked to get off, just before the kombi reached the Mahamba intersection.
The taxi drivers later caught up with the kombi a few metres from where the man had disembarked.


When they gave the stunned kombi driver a description of the man they were looking for, he told them the man had already alighted and the search for the suspect took a different direction.


Fortunately, the manhunt followed the route towards Mahamba border, which coincidentally happened to be the same direction taken by the alleged fugitive.
He was caught about 200 metres from the intersection, where he alighted from the kombi.


At that moment, one of the ‘suspect hunters’ allegedly fired two warning shots to deter the man from running away, which worked to their favour as he offered no resistance.
Bystanders revealed that the suspect was bundled into a vehicle which was used by his pursuers and taken to the Nhlangano Police Station where he was handed over to officers.


Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the arrest of the 30-year-old suspect when contacted yesterday.

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