Celani Sikhakhane brings you KwaZulu-Natal’s latest news.
Pietermaritzburg: The DA rejects the story told by KZN’s Department of Education that its money crisis is caused by the Provincial Treasury. The party says this claim is misleading. “The current crisis is caused by years of bad management and poor financial governance within the department itself. For too long, the Education Department made promises it couldn’t pay for, piling up billions of rands in debt. These practices have now been stopped under the provincial financial recovery plan, showing the true state of the department’s finances,” the party says.
Durban: The Durban High Court has sent Philakahle Hloniphani Dladla, 28, to jail for life and 40 years for robberies and murder he committed in November 2024 in the Groutville area of KwaDukuza. Dladla was also convicted and sentenced for gun-related charges. The victims are Bheki Xulu and Nontokozo Shangase, and the dead man in the murder charge is Mariemuthoo Arumugam, who was a senior superintendent at KwaDukuza Municipality’s Traffic Department. Before the incident, Dladla made a plan to rob minibus taxi passengers of their cash and cellphones. Armed with a gun, he got on a minibus taxi at KwaDukuza taxi rank on 4 November 2024. The taxi was going to Durban and he sat in the front passenger seat next to Xulu, who was the driver. The taxi was full and during the journey, Dladla told Xulu to take the Groutville offramp. Dladla then pulled out the gun and demanded cash from Xulu, who gave him about R1,000. Dladla then pointed the gun at the passengers demanding money and cellphones. He took cash and a cellphone from Shangase. While the robbery was happening, Arumugam, dressed in his RTI uniform, came to the stopped minibus taxi to ask what was going on. Dladla then fired many shots at Arumugam, hitting his head and neck. Arumugam died from his injuries and Xulu ran away, going to the nearby RTI office for help.
Chatsworth: Police in Chatsworth have arrested four suspects for murder and attempted murder which they allegedly committed in the Chatsworth policing area. On Monday, a 20-year-old man was shot many times on the road at 1104 informal settlement in Chatsworth and died at the scene. On Tuesday, the Chatsworth Detectives Tracing Team got information about where the suspects were and acted on it. During the operation, three suspects were arrested for the murder of the 20-year-old and they were found hiding in two different houses at 1104 informal settlement. One of the suspects showed police where he had hidden the gun used in the crime. The gun was found with eight bullets. First investigation showed that one of the suspects was wanted for double murder which he committed in July 2025 at Crossmoor in Chatsworth.
Pictured above: DA leadership during the reopening of schools in KwaZulu-Natal.
Image source: KZNDA.
