News24 | Former cops claim 17-year sentence for bribe is too harsh

Two former police officers sentenced to 17 years in prison for accepting a R120 000 bribe to derail a high-profile political murder investigation have launched a bid to appeal their convictions and sentencing.

Sergeant Bonginkosi Dlamini, formerly with the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team, and former police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Khephu Ndlovu filed papers at the Pinetown Regional Court challenging Magistrate Muntukayise Khumalo’s January judgment.

The duo were sentenced in April for corruption and defeating the ends of justice after taking cash to compromise the case against Felokwakhe Ndlovu, who was later jailed for life for the 2018 assassination of his cousin, KwaNdengezi ANC branch leader Thulani Nxumalo.

The State established that Felokwakhe’s wife, Sibongile Ndlovu, delivered the R120 000 bribe in a bag at the Durban Central police station parking lot. Following the payment, Dlamini intimidated key state witness Celani Dlamini by showing him the case docket, warning him his life was in danger, and urging him to withdraw from the case.

In their appeal bid, the officers argue the court erred significantly. Ndlovu’s legal team claims the magistrate relied entirely on flawed testimony.

“The court solely relied on the hearsay evidence of Sibongile to convict Khephu Ndlovu in circumstances where, without it, there was no evidence against him,” the court papers state.

Dlamini’s defence claims the magistrate failed to resolve contradictory State evidence regarding where the money was paid and who received it. They further argue that a State eyewitness failed to provide a physical or facial description, ultimately relying on an unreliable “dock identification”.

The papers also argue that the 17-year term is too harsh, claiming the court “over-emphasised the crime and the impact on society so as to materially misdirect itself with regard to the length of sentence,” while ignoring the 60-year-old Ndlovu’s poor health and age.

READ | MP Fadiel Adams denies allegations against him as bail application set to continue Friday

The case has also drawn political scrutiny. Dlamini was previously visited at Westville Prison by National Coloured Congress leader and Member of Parliament Fadiel Adams. Adams was himself recently granted R10 000 bail at the same Pinetown court on charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice after he allegedly used his parliamentary credentials to gain access to the prison.

The appeal application stalled on Friday when Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Lawrence Gcaba revealed that co-accused