A man posing as a SAPS Colonel was arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer
Image: File Photo
A 39-year-old man from Glen Hills, Durban, who masqueraded as a high-ranking police officer attached to the SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial office and involved himself in sensitive police investigations, appeared briefly in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Sthembiso Zondi, who assumed the rank of Colonel, is due to reappear in court on Thursday for a bail application. He was arrested by members of SAPS Durban North on March 27.
Impersonating a police officer and contravening the Firearms Control Act are some of the charges that Zondi faces.
Provincial spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed Zondi’s arrest and court appearance.
“Durban North police have arrested a 39-year-old man for impersonating a police officer, and his matter was remanded to April 2,” said Netshiunda.
It has been alleged that police investigators were on the trail of a car-theft syndicate and tracked them to an address on the beachfront in January. That is when Zondi engaged with the police personnel present and introduced himself as a Colonel from the KZN provincial office.
He participated in the operation, which included the arrest of suspects.
Zondi had previously met a metro police officer, who was part of the January operation, at an event at the Durban International Convention Centre, and produced a SAPS appointment card to confirm his rank as Colonel and the unit to which he allegedly belonged.
Having been introduced to the SAPS tracing team by the metro officer for the January mission, Zondi continued to appear at other police operations.
In a second incident, Zondi claimed he was robbed by people selling cars on the Bluff, and he was used to lure members of the syndicate, who were subsequently arrested.
Zondi also attended the scene in March when another Colonel was shot, and he was also present at the hospital, offering assistance.
After the shooting incident, Zondi made repeated visits to the hospital to check on the injured Colonel. It was then that police officers took note of how he carried his firearm and became suspicious.
They also noted that he never made eye contact when he conversed with them, which further aroused their doubt.
It also caught their attention that the firearm he carried was not a police-issued weapon.
A crime intelligence check was conducted on Zondi, and it was discovered that he was not a SAPS member.
Last week, the team investigating his credentials requested a meeting at the Durban North police station. Zondi attended, and when his credentials were checked, it was confirmed that he was not a police officer, according to the SAPS system.
He was immediately arrested. He was then taken to his home, and a vehicle parked there was found to be fitted with blue lights.
Zondi apparently confessed that he owned other firearms, but had never been a police officer.
DAILY NEWS