Police constable, Austin Luciano Reynolds, has been found guilty of murder by a South African court for the killing of a Nigerian man, Ebuka Emmanuel Okoli.
The Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA) President, Adetola Olubajo, in a statement on Saturday, said the accused was found guilty on one charge of murder and three charges of robbery.
Olubajo stated, “NUSA welcomes the judgment of Judge Shyam Gyanda on the brutal murder of Late Ebuka Emmanuel Okoli who was shot by a young police constable in Durban on 19th January 2018.
“Austin Luciano Reynolds, the twenty-four-year-old South African police constable, was found guilty today, Friday 29th November 2019 for the January 19 2018 murder of Ebuka Okoli a native of Anambra State in Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal.
“The accused was found guilty on all four charges, one charge of murder and three charges of robbery. The accomplice of the accused during the illegal raid turned state witness.”
Ebuka was reportedly shot at close range during an allegedly illegal raid by Reynolds and his colleague on the community where the deceased resided in Durban.
The statement added, “He (Ebuka) was robbed, tortured, handcuffed, and later shot at close range by the officer who was off-duty at the time of the raid.
“We have been monitoring the case since the inception and very grateful and appreciative of the role played by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, because without them, this case would have been one of the numerous unresolved murder cases of Nigerians in South Africa.”