Police are investigating four counts of murder following a shootout between community patrollers and alleged suspects in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The gun battle occurred at Bhambayi in Inanda just before midnight on Friday, 1 May 2026.
Altercation
According to police, a group of community patrollers were patrolling along Nohohwana Skeke Street when they came across three men whom they suspected of committing robberies in the area.
“An altercation reportedly ensued, and there was an exchange of gunfire between the community patrollers and the alleged suspects. Two people, a community patroller and an alleged suspect, died at the scene,” said police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda.
“Two more community patrollers succumbed to their gunshot wounds in hospital.”
Crime-fighting
The Provincial Police Commissioner of KZN, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has reiterated that organised community crime-fighting groups must work with police and avoid direct confrontation with suspected criminals.
“We encourage active community participation in the fight against crime, it is the only way that we can win the fight against crime. However, community structures like the Community Police Forum (CPF) and other supplementary structures must be the eyes and ears of the police and never take actions that may endanger their lives.
“We have seen criminals shooting at police officers, meaning that they will never think twice before shooting at a civilian, Mkhwanazi said.
Mkhwanazi has called on crime-fighting structures to align themselves with the provisions of the constitution of the CPF and participate in crime-fighting initiatives in a “controlled and legal manner.”
Police killed
Meanwhile, police are searching for suspects in connection with a brazen daylight attack on two Saps crime intelligence officers in the Mount Edgecombe area of Durban, which left one officer dead and another fighting for his life.
Two crime intelligence officers came under fire in the Mount Edgecombe area of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, on Thursday afternoon in what authorities have described as a targeted and audacious attack on law enforcement.
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the officer who had been driving the state vehicle succumbed to gunshot wounds at the scene.
