The former KZN PKTT Sergeant Bonginkosi Dlamini, who was visited in prison by NCC leader and Member of Parliament Fadiel Adams, filed papers on Friday in the Pinetown Regional Court for leave to appeal his conviction and 17-year sentence for accepting a R120 000 bribe to fudge a murder investigation into the killing of a Durban ANC branch leader.

• Two police officers sentenced to 17 years for bribery have launched a court bid to appeal their convictions and sentences.
• The corrupt duo allegedly received R120 000 in cash to derail an investigation into the murder of an ANC branch leader.
• Their application at the Pinetown Regional Court has been delayed until July to allow their co-accused to file papers.

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.

Felokwakhe has also joined their application.

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.

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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 Sibongile Ndlovu and Lindokuhle Mbonambi also intended to appeal but had not yet secured legal representation or finalised paperwork.

Defence counsel, Advocate JP Broster, argued that his clients’ application should proceed swiftly, regardless of the delays caused by the other accused.

“We ask that our clients’ application be heard on 13 July, whether the remaining accused are ready or not,” Broster told the court.