The national commissioner of the police, General Fannie Masemola, has commended the political killings task team for the swift arrest of suspects that were wanted in connection with the murder of a whistleblower, Xolani Ndlovu Ntombela.
Ntombela forms part of the 121 dockets that have been returned to the task team to continue with investigations.
The dockets were returned to the task team, and within a week, the team had arrested a 55-year-old local chief and a 23-year-old hitman for the 2022 murder.
The breakthrough comes after City Press recently reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa was upset over Masemola’s decision to return 121 investigation dockets to KwaZulu-Natal.
Prior to that, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia had demanded an urgent report from Masemola on the handover of 121 dockets to the political killings task force.
In a joint statement after a meeting between Masemola and Cachalia last week, they said the commission still needed to work on the allegations brought by KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Shot dead in his homestead
“This is to ensure the integrity of the dockets and enable the commission to thoroughly investigate all matters related to its terms of reference.
“Where there are matters in these dockets requiring urgent further criminal investigations or prosecution, the SAPS [SA Police Service] will advise the commission accordingly.
“The SAPS will also act with speed where the commission refers new matters to it for urgent investigation. This is in line with its terms of reference,” said Cachalia and Masemola in a statement.
The late Ntombela was shot and killed in November 2022 inside his homestead.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said a preliminary investigation by the task team has so far revealed that Ntombela was murdered for exposing the illegal sales of land in Emasosheni in the Mpophomeni area in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal.
“The local chief and the hitman have since appeared before the Howick Magistrate’s Court this morning on several charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder, as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition,” said Mathe.
Moerane Commission
Masemola has applauded the team for the swift arrests.
“The turnaround time and swift arrests following the return of the dockets are encouraging, and it is a step in the right direction. We urge the team to continue with their investigations in the remaining 120 dockets,” said Masemola
He added that: “We need to solve all these cases because families need answers and closure.”
The task team’s investigations since July 2018 have led to the conviction of more than 130 people accused of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
The political killings task team was established in 2019 following the 2016 Moerane Commission’s investigation into the causes of political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.
