The Gunning Down of the Notorious Sergeant Hlubi
On Sunday, 25 June 1978, at about 01:30 in the morning, Detective Sergeant Orphan “Hlubi” Chapi arrived at his home in Rockville, which was near Moroka Police Station in Soweto, driving a brown Ford Granada. As Sergeant Chapi stopped the car and walked to the gate of his home, he noticed someone emerging from the nearby Ndondo School, coming towards him staggering as if he was drunk. Chapi, who had pulled his revolver from the holster, after seeing someone coming towards him, returned the revolver back into the holster.
He then asked the person if he was alright, who responded that he was fine. While Chapi was still pondering what was going on, the person pulled out a Tokarev 7.62-calibre pistol, shot Chapi, hitting his right arm, and when he tried to fire a second shot, the gun jammed. Chapi however collapsed, tried to retrieve his revolver and shoot back. Before he could fire any shots, the attacker jumped to the other side of the Granada while attempting to fix his Tokarev, and after failing to fix it, he fled the scene. During that moment Chapi fired approximately eight shots, but none affected the well-trained assassin, as he moved by bounds to avoid offering a stable target.
When Sergeant Chapi’s neighbour, Mr Tshabalala, heard the shots, he looked outside the window and saw Chapi staggering from his house to the gate. Tshabalala then went to assist him. He took the revolver and drove Chapi to Baragwanath H
