DURBAN – On 3 January 2020 at 05:00, the Plessislaer Detectives conducted an operation at Pata area in Pietermaritzburg searching for the suspect wanted in the murder case.
It is alleged on 26 December 2019 at 02:00, Menelisi Mnikathi (42) was fatally stabbed while at Maqeleni area in Imbali. He sustained stab wounds to the chest and was declared dead at the scene. A case of murder is being investigated by Plessislaer SAPS. The team went to the suspect’s house and introduced themselves as police. One of the occupants in the house came out and ran away with a firearm in his hand.
The police officers gave chase and shots were fired towards the police officers and there was a shoot-out. The suspect sustained an injury on the leg. He was apprehended and found in possession of an unlicensed firearm with three rounds of ammunition. The wanted suspect is still being sought by police and arrests are imminent. A 33-year-old suspect is appearing today in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates’ Court on charges of attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
The recovered firearm will be subjected to ballistic testing to ascertain if it was used in the commission of any crime in the country, said the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula.
Source: South African Police Service