Mlungisi Mpanza has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a police officer. His accomplice, Mzomuhle Gamede, was sentenced for robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping by the Durban High Court on Wednesday.
The Durban High Court on Wednesday sentenced the mastermind behind the hijacking of a Chester Butcheries meat truck, during which metro police officer Errol George Ogle was killed, to life imprisonment.
Driven by revenge after being dismissed by Chester Butcheries for participating in an illegal strike, Mlungisi Phakamani Mpanza and Mzomuhle Lawrence Gamede hijacked one of the company’s trucks on the M7 near Queensburgh on July 20, 2023. They also kidnapped the driver, Kishore Lakraj.
However, the hijacking quickly unravelled when the truck’s gears locked about 50 metres after it was taken. Carrying a meat cargo valued at R731,530, the truck came to a standstill on the M7 off-ramp, facing oncoming traffic.
Shortly afterwards, metro police officer Errol Ogle stopped his patrol vehicle near the stranded truck to investigate. Before he could get out of his vehicle, he was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
