Suspect In Mount Edgecombe Police Ambush Killed In Inanda
A suspect wanted in connection with the April ambush that claimed the lives of two KwaZulu-Natal Crime Intelligence officers was shot and fatally wounded during a police operation in Inanda today, Friday morning.
Five other suspects, who police say are alleged accomplices, were arrested in a coordinated intelligence-led operation across KwaZulu-Natal.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the suspect was located at a house in the Emaplasini area of Inanda.
Police negotiated with him for about three hours after he refused to surrender and opened fire from inside the house. The suspect eventually released his girlfriend, who had been inside the house, but continued refusing to surrender.
He was later shot and fatally wounded during the operation.
A member of the SAPS Special Task Force was also shot in the hand during the confrontation. Netshiunda said the officer received first aid and was in good spirits.
The five other suspects were arrested in separate operations in Pinetown, Amanzimtoti, Mandeni and Newlands West. Police said the operation followed a prosecutorially guided investigation into the April killings.
The arrests are linked to the 30 April 2026 ambush of Captain Louis Nel (pictured) and Sergeant Mandla Khuzwayo (pictured) on Flanders Drive in Mount Edgecombe, north of Durban.
The two officers, who were attached to Crime Intelligence, were travelling in an unmarked state vehicle when armed suspects opened fire on them. Nel died at the scene, while Khuzwayo was critically wounded and later died in hospital on 25 May.
At Nel’s funeral in May, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told the families that those responsible would be found “dead or alive”.
The five arrested suspects are being processed and are expected to appear in court on Monday, 28 September 2026. Police have not publicly identified the suspect who was killed in Inanda.
