Life for a Life: KwaDukuza Traffic Officer’s Killer Gets Maximum Sentence

More than a year after a brazen taxi robbery turned into the cold-blooded murder of a father and public servant, a Durban High Court has delivered a stern final word. Philakahle Dladla (28) was sentenced to life imprisonment last week for the killing of KwaDukuza traffic officer Desmond Arumugam, with an additional 40 years for robbery and firearm offences.

The sentence brings a measure of closure to a case that shook the KwaDukuza community and left a family shattered. Arumugam, a father of three, was murdered on November 4, 2024, after he approached a stationary taxi to investigatean act of duty that cost him his life.

The Day of the Crime: A Taxi Turned Crime Scene

According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Dladla boarded a full taxi at the KwaDukuza rank with robbery in mind. Sitting in the front, he directed the driver, Bheki Xulu, to take the Groutville offramp before pulling a firearm. He robbed Xulu and a passenger, Nontokozo Shangase, of cash and a cellphone.

It was at this moment that Traffic Officer Desmond Arumugam approached the vehicle. Without hesitation, Dladla opened fire, striking Arumugam in the head and neck. The officer died at the scene. Dladla then drove off with passengers still inside, later abandoning the taxi in Thembeni. He was arrested six days later; a firearm was recovered at his home.

A Family’s Grief and a Brother’s Relief

During the trial, Prosecutor Rakesh Singh presented a watertight case using cellphone records, passenger testimony, and police evidence. The court also heard a poignant victim impact statement from Arumugam’s daughter, who described her father as the “foundation of their family.”

His eldest brother, Bazil Arumugam, expressed the family’s conflicted relief. “Unfortunately, this won’t bring my brother back. We are still shattered by his death,” he said. He praised the judge for being “very vocal and stern,” noting that Dladla showed no remorse and denied the crime despite overwhelming evidence.

Bazil extended heartfelt thanks to the KwaDukuza law enforcement officers who packed the court in support and singled out Captain Ntshangase and the Durban Organized Crime Unit for their “excellent work.” His only note of disappointment was that the lengthy sentences would run concurrently, not consecutively.

A Message to Those Who Target Officers

KwaDukuza Mayor Siduduzo Gumede welcomed the sentence, stating it delivers justice not only for Arumugam and his family but for all law enforcement officers who face daily risks. The life sentence for killing a police officer, as the judge emphasised, is a mandatory minimuma clear signal from the judiciary that attacks on those who uphold the law will be met with the full, unyielding force of the law itself.

For the Arumugam family, the gavel’s fall ends the legal chapter, but not the profound absence left behind. Justice has been served, but as Bazil Arumugam quietly noted, it is a verdict that cannot heal, only acknowledge, an irreplaceable loss.