The three men who brutally attempted to murder an off-duty police officer in Amanzimtoti, in August 2021, each received ten years imprisonment for their crime on Tuesday.
Ndabezinhle Mvume, 29, Simiso Mthimkhulu, 47, and Thamsanqa Msabala, 29, were found guilty by the Durban Regional Court, on 29 May 2025, after several court appearances.
The three men were arrested in April 2022, by the South African Police Service’s (SAPS’s) Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit.
They were found guilty of attempting to murder Captain Gysbert Grotius, who was walking along Cato Crest Street in Amanzimtoti on 29 August 2001.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Grotius approached the men who were in a “suspicious” looking taxi.
Severe injuries leads to attempted murder of police officer
While talking to the men, an altercation ensured. One of the assailants hit Grotius with a can of beer. The captain, who was stationed at the SAPS Air Wing Unit, retaliated by throwing the can back at his attackers.
“The three accused alighted [the taxi] and severely assaulted him. One of the accused used an iron rod to brutally assault the captain,” said a Hawks statement.
Grotius’s wife witnessed the incident and rushed him to hospital for medical assistance.
The statement further confirmed the serious injuries he sustained. These included: a fractured skull, brain bleeding, broken fingers and lacerations to his face and body.
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