SA POLICE ESCORT HIJACKED PETROL TRUCK, ZIMBABWEAN TURN STAR WITNESS
A Zimbabwean national has told the Durban Magistrate’s Court that police officers helped escort a hijacked petrol truck through Durban, South Africa to avoid detection.
Clive Chigwiku, 39, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in the hijacking. Part of the sentence was suspended after he agreed to become a state witness against others allegedly involved, including police officers.
The court heard that the plan was hatched on 16 October 2024 when Chigwiku met Nhlanhla Madzinana in Clairwood. Madzinana allegedly proposed hijacking a petrol truck and selling it to Chigwiku for R400,000.
Chigwiku then allegedly approached his former girlfriend, a police officer stationed at Brighton Beach Police Station, and asked her to escort the hijacked truck so it would not raise suspicion on the road. The officer allegedly agreed but said they would have to be paid.
After the hijacking, Chigwiku said he was told to wait along Higginson Highway. He drove there in his Audi Q3 and claims Brighton Beach officers followed in police vehicles.
The operation unravelled when other police officers arrived and arrested Madzinana and another suspect. Chigwiku escaped but was arrested about a month later.
The court also heard Chigwiku had been earning around R50,000 and had entered South Africa illegally.
The magistrate expressed concern over the allegations, saying police officers had effectively become involved in criminal activities, and referenced evidence from the Madlanga Commission on alleged links between law enforcement and organised crime.
The allegations against the police officers still have to be tested in court. – Fikile Hadebe