South Coast policeman’s murder: 2 appear in court

Mfaniseni Nombika (30) and Victor Mseleku (40) were arrested last weekend and appeared in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in connection with the murder of Constable Jarius Joshua Govender (24) who was killed on the N2 freeway near Scottburgh in August last year.

“This past weekend, members followed up on positive information and the two accused were arrested,” says Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo.

The accused were found in possession of unlicensed firearms and live rounds of ammunition, he adds.

After Nombika and Mseleku’s court appearance this week, they were remanded back into custody and the case was postponed to May 7 for a formal bail application.

“The seized firearms will be sent for ballistic test to ascertain if they were used in the commission of any crime in the country,” says Mhlongo.

Govender was stationed at the Port Shepstone Public Order Policing Unit and was off duty when he was murdered.

As per information received from the Hawks, Govender was driving on the N2 freeway from Port Shepstone to Durban when his girlfriend had a tyre problem.

“They both stopped on the roadside, while changing the tyre he was accosted by the accused and a scuffle ensued. One of the accused allegedly fired shots at him and they were both robbed of their cellphones. The accused fled the scene on foot and Constable Govender was declared dead on the scene.”

A case of murder and robbery was reported at Scottburgh SAPS and the case docket was allocated to Hawks members from the Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit.