A Durban police spokesman has been arrested in connection with allegations of murder, attempted murder and assault. He had been implicated by eight men who were arrested last week and who were facing the same charges, police said this morning. Police have vowed to deal with corruption in their ranks.
Police claimed the captain travelled with the eight in a police vehicle to confront a group of people in Durban. "The victims were allegedly beaten up by the gang, including the police officer. One of the victims died at the scene and his body was thrown into a bush, which was set alight," said police spokeswoman, Brigadier Phindile Radebe.
Radebe could not say where the incident took place, the reason for the confrontation, whether the captain was on duty or what the motive for the attack could have been. The suspect, whose job is to alert the media of criminal activities in the city, was arrested yesterday and is expected to appear at the Inanda Magistrate's Court tomorrow.
Radebe promised that the department would do everything to get rid of rogue individuals in the service. "If you are found guilty of corruption, or any other criminal activities, you will face the full might of the law, whether you are a police officer or not. "The department is doing everything possible to root out corrupt officials. If a police officer is found guilty of a criminal offence they will be dismissed," she said.
Opposition parties have strongly condemned the incident, with the DA saying such incidents were a near daily occurrence in the province. DA KZN community safety and liaison spokesman, Sizwe Mchunu, said police were supposed to be custodians of peace and stability in the country, but were often found to be involved in criminal activities. "It is a concern when our very own police are perpetrators and criminals. It has become a trend for police officers to be involved in fraudulent activities," he said.
The IFP's Lionel Mtshali said: "This is a very serious matter because law officers are expected to protect citizens, not be involved in criminal activities. We want to see the law take its course."
Last week, six members of the police's Tactical Response Team were arrested and charged with armed robbery and dealing in illegal firearms after they allegedly robbed a woman twice. In May, an Inanda police station exhibit clerk who sold guns to policemen and to the public was sentenced to 20 years. Thulisani Trevor Mfeka, 29, of KwaMashu had pleaded guilty to stealing and trading in 98 firearms, which he stole from the station's exhibit room. It was reported that he made a profit of R90 000 selling the weapons, including R-5-rifles, in just eight months.
In February, five KZN police officers were arrested for corruption and a cash-in-transit robbery. In the same month, three policemen of the Mayville SAPS were charged with corruption. The trio were alleged to have extorted money from a suspect on a car theft case.
A report by the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) early this year revealed that it received 2 289 allegations of criminal activities involving SAPS members. Most of the complaints (406, or 18 percent) were reported in Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape with 356 (16 percent). KwaZulu-Natal had 208 (9 percent). ICD spokesman, Moses Dlamini, said 72 percent of complaints had an element of aggression (these include dog attacks, rape and robbery). He added that police brutality accounted for 36 percent of criminal offences reported.
Cases of attempted murder accounted for 16 percent, while assault amounted to 53 percent of all criminal cases reported.
Source: IoL
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