Mayor's guard held for murder

2009-01-06 20:22

Durban - A bodyguard of the Umsunduzi Municipality's mayor, who allegedly shot one of his friends accidentally, handed himself over to Pietermaritzburg police on Tuesday, police said.

Superintendent Henry Budhram said the 30-year-old bodyguard, Nkosi Ngubane, is one of three suspects believed to be involved in the killing of their friend, 26-year-old Sibusiso Mashaba.

Mashaba had stopped his car on Dambuza Road on Sunday afternoon and was talking to the occupants of another car when the incident took place.

Budhram earlier said one of the occupants in the other car "playfully produced a firearm and whilst pointing it in the direction of Mashaba, a shot went off".

His vehicle rolled and hit the fence on the roadside.

The three occupants of the other car removed Mashaba from his vehicle and rushed him to a hospital where he later died.

One of the occupants later returned to the scene and was arrested. .

Budhram on Tuesday said the bodyguard arrived with his attorney at the police station and handed himself in.

He was due to appear at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday facing a charge of murder.

Police are looking for the third suspect.

- SAPA