Senior Superintendent Duma Ntsezo, handed himself to the Eastern Cape police last week after explosives, ammunition and 18m of fuse, rifle grenade, bulletproof vests and battle jackets were found in his Elliotdale home. These are believed to be what criminals use to bomb ATMs.

Nyanga Community Police Forum chairperson Nceba Ntshueza said they are disappointed with Ntsezo’s linkage to crime but said the law should be allowed to take its course.

“We worked very hard with this man but this has somehow cast a shadow on his character,” said Ntshueza.

He said though “everyone was innocent until proven otherwise” the station commissioner had a lot of explanation to do.

“He was a very dedicated and committed person to crime fighting and this has come as a big shock to us and the community at large,” he added.

Councillor Elese Depoutch fired heavy punches at station commissioner Ntsezo.

“We are working with people who happen to be also implicated in criminal activities. That is very bad for a person of his calibre. This is going to break the trust that we already have between abahlali and the police,” he said.

“We are going to call all stakeholders and find out whether he was not part of crime in Nyanga,” said Depoutch.

Ntsezo, a former bomb disposal technician, is the second officer to be accused. A Gauteng bomb disposal officer was arrested last week in connection with a series of attacks on ATMs.

ATM bombings — in which explosives are attached to cash machines to blow them apart so that the money inside can be stolen — have dramatically increased.

This month alone, 28 ATMs have been struck, bringing this year’s total to 271. Last year, 387 of the machines were blown up.

Ntsezo’s mother, Nomelinjani Ntsezo, and a female relative were arrested last week for allegedly stashing the explosives. They were released on bail on Monday.

Eastern Cape police spokesman Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela said robbers used commercial explosives.

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