NATIONAL NEWS - A warrant of arrest has been issued for a former police officer who failed to appear in the Durban Regional Court on August 29, where he was to be sentenced for a conviction of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Daniel ‘Danie’ Reyneke (64) was employed by the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Durban and resigned in 2018.
He landed trouble with the law after a bag containing guns, ammunition and explosives was found near Umbogintwini River at the Amanzimtoti Golf Course in 2014.
An investigation showed that two of the guns had been signed off by Reyneke from police storage but were never returned. The Hawk’s Colonel Hebert Heap led the investigation, and the police found 39 more firearms in Reyneke’s office, some of which had their serial numbers filed off.
A top-class award-winning marksman, Reyneke was also the chairperson of the Natal Pistol Association and the Poinsettia Pistol Club.
He faced 13 charges that included theft and possession of prohibited firearms. He pleaded not guilty to all of them but was convicted on eight.
He told the court that he believed his prosecution was the result of bad blood between him and his former colleagues.
After failing to show up for his sentencing last week, his attorney, Thobile Sigcau, told magistrate Anand Maharaj that Reyneke had sent him a message earlier that day, apologising for not making it to court.
Sigcau also informed the court that Reyneke’s son had gone to his house in Amanzimtoti that morning but did not find him. Instead, he found his wallet, car keys, ID and a copy of his will on the table.
The magistrate issued a warrant of arrest and postponed the case to the following day, but still, Reyneke never showed up. Instead, his attorney told the court that Reyneke had sent him another message, the contents of which cannot be disclosed by the South Coast Sun.
When contacted, KwaZulu-Natal Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said he was not aware of the case as Reyneke was no longer in the Hawks’ employ.
Read original story on southcoastsun.co.za
