Policeman granted R20,000 bail in kidnapping and murder case

A Durban police officer charged with kidnapping and murder was granted R20,000 bail on Wednesday at the Pinetown magistrate’s court.

Sgt Ayanda Ntombela, 42, is accused of kidnapping Sihle Mtshare, 27, killing him, hiding his body and stealing his cellphone.

In previous testimony during the bail application, investigating officer Madoda Martin Zulu revealed Mtshare had been taken by a police officer on August 21 from his home in Mpola, Mariannhill.

When he didn’t return, the family started looking for him at nearby police stations — KwaNdengezi, Chatsworth and Pinetown — but no-one knew about him or his arrest.

When they couldn't identity the arresting officer, the family opened a missing person’s case and posted it on Facebook.

“One witness said he had noticed the deceased brought in by a police officer while he was also being detained. He then identified the applicant [Ntombela] as that officer in front of his supervisor, Col Singh. There are five witnesses, one of whom would testify that he [Ntombela] took the deceased but failed to log him in at either Mariannhill or KwaNdengezi police stations,” he said.

He said Ntombela eventually pointed them to where the body was — in a remote area about 7km from his house. With the help of the search and rescue services, the body was found “stuffed” in a stormwater pipe.

Zulu said another witness would testify that Mtshare had jumped out of a police vehicle and Ntombela had no-one to help him when that happened, yet he did not report the incident.

As part of his bail bid, Ntombela said his assets included a car, five cows and he had taken over his family's house in Mpumalanga (Hammersdale) after the death of his father. He lives there with his mother, two wives and six children.

He said he had tendered his resignation on the day he handed himself in at the Pinetown police station. However, the state said Ntombela resigned only because he knew he would be found guilty.

The state added that his assets could not be listed as “immovable” as cows can easily perish or be sold, his home belongs to his parents and the car belongs to the bank as he's still paying it off. 

Ntombela said having been a police officer for more than 20 years, he had been attacked twice while in custody by some of the people he had arrested. He said he feared for his safety. 

Zulu said his safety could not be guaranteed outside either since the community was angry, as the protests outside court through the bail proceedings demonstrated. As an experienced police officer, Ntombela could easily interfere with the case.

However, the magistrate said the state had not demonstrated how he could interfere with the investigation.

“The state did not establish whether there was any relationship between the applicant and the witnesses and no names were revealed to him or where they reside,” she said.

She added that, though a bail application was not a trial, the court still had to note the evidence and circumstances, before arriving at a decision whether to grant bail.

“The court has to look at the gravity of the charges and possible ramifications, including a murder charge. The state only had one witness who provided hearsay evidence that could not be tested since it came from a secondary source,” she said.

“Court is aware of the protests outside but the court has to also look at the accused's rights and the time he's spent in custody. Since the state conceded that they still have many investigations to conduct and it may take long before a trial date is set.”

The court conceded that due to Ntombela’s decision to resign at the outset of the case and him having little to no immovable assets, it would be “tricky” to guarantee that he would not evade trial.

“That is why the conditions should be set in such a way that it compels the applicant to stay for the completion of the trial.”

Ntombela has to report to the Mariannhill police station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and may not interfere with the investigation in any way, including communicating with the witnesses nor leave the province without reporting.

The matter was adjourned to November 10 for further investigation, mainly to deal with outstanding documents including the postmortem report, tracking system and witnesses statements.

Family and friends of Mtshare who were gathered outside court said they unhappy Ntombela had been granted bail.

“The way the prosecutor spoke and the evidence he showed in court, no-one thought he [Ntombela] would be granted bail — but that clearly shows there is no justice in SA,” said Mtshare’s mother, who refused to be named.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.