A man who assaulted a policeman after he refused him entry to former Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home was arrested on Tuesday following a shootout with cops.

The cop is allegedly fighting for his life after he was attacked by an unknown man demanding to have a small conversation with Zuma at his Nkandla homestead.According to a report from a KZN based Zulu newspaper, an unknown man told the police that he was from Pietermaritzburg and was carrying knobkerrie, which he used to assault the cop before disarming him and began firing at other cops that guard Zuma's home.

It is alleged that the assaulted cop is fighting for his life at The Bay Private Hospital in Richards Bay.

"The suspect came carrying a knobkerrie and demanded to see Zuma. The police refused because he was not aware about the man's visit to Zuma. While they were busy talking about his situation, an authorised car came and the cop opened the gate. While the cop was busy opening the gate, the unknown man began assaulting the cop with a knobkerrie, before disarming him and shooting at other cops, who were present to assist the assaulted cop. He then ran away with a gun to a nearby house away from Zuma's place to hide. The cops followed him and they found him carrying the cop's pistol," a source said.

The source said that the guy was arrested on the spot and he appeared before the Nkandla Magistrate Court on Friday.

"The unknown used a knobkerrie to beat our colleague in the head. We still want answers as to how he knew that Zuma was inside his homestead when he came and demanded to.see him. We suspect that the arrested man knew exactly that Zuma was inside judging by the way he was desperate to see him.This has led to the security at Zuma's place to be beefed up. We are worried with such behaviour but we are hoping that we will know soon why he was demanding to see Zuma and what was so important that it forced him to beat a cop up," a source told Zimoja

SAPS spokesperson Robert Netshiunde confirmed the incident. "Nkandla police arrested a 32-year-old man for attempted murder, robbery and assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm following an incident in which four officers were attacked while on duty on Tuesday, in the Nkandla area. The suspect appeared in the Nkandla Magistrate's Court on 4 May and the case was remanded to 15 May 2023. It is alleged that the wanted to gain access into private premises," he said.