Eastern Cape police have welcomed the sentencing of the last suspect convicted of the brutal murder of Constable Mfundo Nika in 2008.
Thirty-six-year-old Bongani Mbili was sentenced to 25 years in jail for his role in Nika's murder this week.
He was sentenced to 15 years for murder and 10-years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The Hawks in the Eastern Cape said Mbili's co-accused brother, Thembani (34), Soyiso Kese (40) and Lamla Ntshaye (31) were jailed for life .
Spokesperson, Captain Anelisa Feni, said Kese, Ntshaye and Thembani Mbili were arrested on 20 December, 2008 by the Keiskammahoek Detectives for hijacking a truck carrying liquor in Keiskammahoek.
"They then confessed about their involvement in the murder of Nika," she said.
Feni said Nika's murder case referred to the Organised Crime wing of the Hawks and after investigations Bongani Mbili was arrested in March, 2015, at Mzinto in KwaZulu-Natal.
The 39-year-old policeman, who was stationed at Thembalethu in George, was shot dead by the men after he gave them a lift while travelling from King Williams Town to George on 3 December 2008. He was shot in the head and his body dumped in the Gwaba Administrative area.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said the following, "We shall not tolerate the murder of our police members who have been entrusted by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa to be the peace keepers of our Nation.”
“ This sentencing is most welcome and is a clear message to all police killers that the claws of the Hawks will catch you."
