Celani Sikhakhane brings you KwaZulu-Natal’s latest news.
Durban: The struggle stalwart and Dutch Reform Church Reverend Allan Boesak has raised concerns about the safety of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi because of his courage to expose rotten corruption in the justice system of the country. Boesak was speaking at the Diakonia Council of Churches Good Friday Service in Durban where he told the congregants that Mkhwanazi might be killed as it mostly happened to whistle-blowers. He says it’s high time for the church to pray hard for the safety of Mkhwanazi because those who have acted like him are being assassinated or lose their jobs. Mkhwanazi made damning allegations on 6 July 2025 where he exposed the political interference in SAPS and the whole of the justice system including the disbandment of the Political Killing Task Team by the embattled Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu. The allegations led to the establishment of the Madlanga Commission by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ulundi: Hawks members from Richards Bay Serious Organised Crime Investigation working together with Zululand District Task Team arrested three suspects aged 35, 44 and 64. The three were arrested for cash-in-transit heist which happened at Gluckstadt near Lenjani turn-off between Vryheid and Ulundi on 14 March 2026. It is alleged that an armoured vehicle was travelling on the R34 from Ulundi to Vryheid when it was attacked by the suspects. They fired multiple shots towards the armoured vehicle until it was stopped. They then forced the security guards out and disarmed them of their service firearms. The suspects took the security guards to an open field and used explosives to blow up the armoured vehicle. The suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and two rifles as well as one 9mm pistol. A case of cash-in-transit heist was reported at Gluckstadt police station and Hawks members attended the crime scene. Three weeks later, information was received about the whereabouts of the suspects and an operation was conducted. During the operation, the three suspects were arrested and two vehicles used in the commission of crime were seized.
Chesterville: The National Prosecuting Authority has secured a 25-year prison sentence in the Durban Regional Court against a 27-year-old man who pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his nine-year-old nephew. The offence was committed in 2024 in the Chesterville area outside Durban. The accused is the complainant’s paternal uncle and they lived in the same homestead. On the evening of 3 January 2024, the accused lured the complainant to a secluded bushy place, promising him that they were going to see wild animals. Once there, the accused strangled the complainant until he lost consciousness. The accused then repeatedly beat the complainant on his face with a piece of wood. Thereafter, the accused left the complainant and went back home, reporting to the family that the complainant was playing with friends. The complainant regained consciousness later and realised that he was bleeding from his face. He managed to walk to a nearby road where he was assisted by a passerby and taken to hospital for medical assistance. The police were alerted and when they visited the complainant in hospital, he implicated the accused. In court, the accused pleaded guilty in terms of Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, stating that his actions were driven by anger that he harboured against the complainant’s father.
Pictured above: Dutch Reform Church Reverend Allan Boesak carried the cross along with Roman Catholic Church Father Wilfred Napier across the streets of Durban on Friday during the long tradition of the Diakonia Council of Churches that was started many years ago to fight apartheid.
Image source: Diakonia Council of Churches
