Wife implicated in KZN cop’s murder appears alongside alleged hitman in court

Two people have been arrested for the murder of a KZN police officer, Warrant Officer Nkosinathi Ntinga Picture: IOL Archives

Two people have been arrested for the murder of a KZN police officer, Warrant Officer Nkosinathi Ntinga Picture: IOL Archives

Published Aug 3, 2023

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A woman who allegedly helped orchestrate her husband's murder made her first appearance in a KwaZulu-Natal court on Thursday.

Ntombizodwa Ntinga appeared alongside Samkelo Mpanza, the man accused of killing Warrant Officer Nkosinathi Ntinga, in the KwaMbonambi Magistrate's Court.

At this stage, police are investigating charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and carjacking.

According to SAPS provincial spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, Ntinga, and his wife, a police sergeant, both worked at the KwaMbonambi police station.

Netshiunda said they were at their Phetane Reserve home with a colleague from the Ntambanana police station on Tuesday night.

"Two men barged into the home and robbed the police officers of their service firearms and cellphones. Both Warrant Officer Ntinga and the clerk were then pushed into a vehicle and the suspects drove off. The wife was unharmed," Netshiunda said.

A short while later, the clerk was found lying on the road. Police said he was presumably pushed from the moving vehicle and taken to hospital for further care.

Ntinga's bullet-riddled body was found on the banks of the Msunduzi River. The vehicle was found abandoned in a sugarcane field, some metres away.

Hawks provincial spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, said the first suspect was arrested hours after the murder.

Mhlongo told eNCA that the second suspect was arrested on Wednesday.

Mhlongo said the search continues for the second suspect who entered the couple’s home. Mhlongo warned the suspect to hand himself over as police intensified efforts to find him. The motive for the attack remains under investigation.

IOL