Gauteng’s ‘Most wanted’ Criminal Killed In KZN Shoot-out With Police

Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, the commissioner of the Gauteng Police Service, has praised the multidisciplinary team that conducted a takedown operation in KwaZulu-Natal around 3 a.m. today in pursuit of Mbuso Ndabazovela Biyela, dubbed Gauteng’s most wanted suspect.

Biyela was killed in a shootout with police this morning after being linked to eight cases, including the murder of a police officer in October last year. “The team that traced Biyela to Sahlumbe (Ematsheleni) village in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal, comprised of provincial members from serious and violent crimes, a tracking team, Soweto district crime intelligence, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal tactical response teams,” Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said.

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“The team approached the house where Biyela was hiding but when he spotted them, he started firing shots towards the team members who were forced to retaliate. Biyela was fatally wounded. None of the members sustained injuries.”

According to her, the team discovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in the house. “Biyela was previously arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for murder in August 2020 and October 2021 but he managed to escape from custody,” said Muridili.

Biyela was positively linked to five murders in Jabulani between October 2021 and March of this year, according to police.

He was linked to the December 2017 hijacking of the Lenasia. He was also linked to another Lenasia South case of unlicensed firearm possession, as well as a murder in KwaZulu-Natal in August 2020.

On May 29, police in Gauteng issued an R100,000 reward for information leading to Biyela’s arrest and conviction. Mawela, the Gauteng police chief, thanked community members who provided information about the crimes.

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“We, as the police in Gauteng, have committed to entrenching ourselves into our communities to realise the ideal of community policing, we made a call to anyone with information on the whereabouts of one of our most wanted suspects and the calls that we received have assisted us a lot,” said Mawela.

“Thank you to the public, as together we have ensured the end of Biyela’s reign of terror.”