By Thapelo Molefe
Five suspects wanted for violent crimes, including murder, attempted murder, and house robberies, were fatally wounded during a shootout with police in Bester Area 10, Inanda, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
KZN provincial police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda said the suspects had been “wreaking havoc in the area of Inanda and the surrounding areas”.
They were also wanted for an attack on police officers that took place last year.
“At the end of November 2025, the suspects attempted to kill police officers by shooting at them, and they have been elusive ever since,” Netshiunda said in a statement.
According to police, information about the suspects’ whereabouts was received early on Thursday and was immediately operationalised.
“When police arrived at the scene, the suspects fired shots towards police officers through the door,” Netshiunda said.
“To protect themselves and those in the vicinity of the house, police returned fire, and during the shootout, five suspects were shot and fatally wounded.”
Four firearms were recovered at the scene, and no police officers were injured.
The incident followed another deadly confrontation in Inanda a day earlier.
On Wednesday afternoon, two suspects wanted in connection with the shooting of four people at the Ezimangweni area on Tuesday night, which left two people dead and one injured, were shot and fatally wounded during a shootout with police at Amaoti.
Police had earlier arrested five suspects linked to the Ezimangweni murders and recovered one firearm and a replica gun. Further investigations led officers to the Amaoti residence, where the suspects opened fire on police. Two firearms were recovered.
The firearms will undergo ballistic analysis.
KwaZulu-Natal continues to record high numbers of suspects killed during police operations. The Democratic Alliance has previously said that 107 suspects were killed by police in the province between July 2023 and July 2024, raising concerns about the frequency of such incidents.
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