Expert evidence on politics of KZN killing
VIOLENT killings in Kwazulunatal will not stop if politics is seen as a meal ticket and economic development does not benefit all.
This was the warning from UKZN philosopher and chairperson of African Renaissance, Dr Sihawu Ngubane, who testified before the Moerane Commission as it concluded its three-day sitting in Durban on Friday.
The commission was investigating the causes of political violence in KZN. It also heard from key witnesses, such as the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) ethics manager in Amar Maharaj, who accused the provincial office of incompetence and denying crime victims’ justice.
Ngubane said political violence would escalate unless there were united efforts to attend to the causes.
These included the uneven distribution of resources which resulted from greed and competition.
There should be a genuine reconciliation between and within political parties and not just grandstanding where people “do things for the TV”, said Ngubane.
This would prevent more killings, some of which were acts of revenge, he added.
Meanwhile, Maharaj told the commission that the Ipid office in KZN was “dysfunctional”.
“Hundreds of cases are closed or recorded as complete and the reason given was that the investigating officer was attending court on another matter or they could not track down witnesses. That is unacceptable,” Maharaj said.
Cases were only supposed to be recorded as completed or closed once the investigation was finalised and the disciplinary processes concluded, but procedures were being repeatedly flouted to meet monthly performance targets.
This saw as many as 40 cases being closed at the end of each month without any investigation done, Maharaj revealed.
Maharaj said misbehaving police officers were “getting away with murder” and the Ipid investigative officers told him about the pressure they were allegedly put under by supervisors to record cases as completed without referring them to the National Prosecution Authority.
“Investigators reported that they are placed in a moral dilemma when cases are ‘completed’ and the family makes inquiries and wants to know the court date,” he added.
According to Maharaj, cases of torture were recorded as assault on the Ipid register and he did not understand the reasons the investigating officers deviated from procedure.
“Investigators reported that often murder, torture and rape never get to the DPP (director of public prosecutions) or may have DPP queries that are not attended to,” he added.
Ipid’s senior managment is expected to testify on August 28. The commission resumes in Pietermarizburg tomorrow.