A KwaZulu-Natal police station commander was shot dead and a sergeant wounded during a shootout with suspected robbers on the R33 near Greytown on Thursday afternoon, 12 November 2026. Police in the province have launched an intensive manhunt for the suspects who remain at large.

The station commander, who held the rank of lieutenant colonel, was leading officers responding to a business robbery in Greytown, in which a shop owner was shot and injured and employees were assaulted. At least 10 suspects fled the scene in a Toyota Quantum minibus, and the commander led police officers and private security personnel in pursuit along the R33 towards Msinga.

Officers caught up with the getaway vehicle on the R33, where a shootout broke out. The station commander was shot and declared dead at the scene. A sergeant was shot in the arm and rushed to hospital for treatment. Police have not yet released the identity of the slain commander, saying her family was still being informed.

Two suspects killed, three firearms recovered

Officers returned fire during the shootout, fatally wounding two suspects and injuring a third, who was arrested and taken to hospital under police guard. The remaining suspects fled on foot into the nearby mountains. At the scene, police recovered three illegal firearms from the suspects: two rifles and a handgun.

Acting KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Major General Phumelele Makoba condemned the killing and pledged that police would use every available resource to find those responsible. "An attack [on] police officers is an attack [on] the State, and police will use every available resource to trace the suspects," he said. "The suspects will know no peace, and police [will] hunt them day and night."

Makoba added that police would "know no sleep" until those responsible were brought to book, and sent condolences to the family of the fallen officer, saying: "The least we can offer now is justice, and we shall find the suspects, dead or alive."

Manhunt under way in uMzinyathi District

Greytown lies in the uMzinyathi District of KwaZulu-Natal, inland from the provincial capital Pietermaritzburg. Police said the manhunt was continuing around the clock, with officers searching the mountainous area where the remaining suspects fled after abandoning the minibus.

The killing is the latest deadly attack on police in the province, where officers regularly face armed suspects during robberies and pursuits. The South African Police Service has not yet said when the commander's name will be released or whether any further arrests have been made. Sources: Independent on Saturday and BNK News.