Murder probe shifts focus

CASE: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION INTO KHOSA INCIDENT CONCLUDES NO COPS INVOLVED

Ipid covers all bases but has no jurisdiction to investigate the alleged murder.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) says it has no jurisdiction to investigate the alleged murder of Collins Khosa because only members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were involved in the matter.

In response to the court case launched by Khosa’s family following his death, Ipid said it had conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident, speaking to the police and the family, and had concluded that no police officers were involved.

“Ipid conducted an inquiry and the result thereof was that members of the municipal police, who were in the vicinity, were not involved in the assault; only the members of the SANDF,” acting executive director of Ipid Patrick Setshedi said.

He added that Ipid investigators had been to Alexandra Police Station, as well as Khosa’s family, who said, despite municipal police being in the vicinity, only SANDF members were involved.

This means the military ombud is responsible for investigating the case.

Last month, the family approached the Constitutional Court after Khosa was allegedly beaten to death by SANDF members, News24 reported.

However, their application was dismissed, forcing the family to approach the high court instead.

Khosa’s wife, who is unnamed in the application, alleged that SANDF members harassed Khosa after finding a glass of alcohol in his yard.

They allegedly assaulted Khosa and his family, pouring beer on his head, and holding his hands behind his back while they choked and beat him. They also allegedly slammed him against the wall and used the butt of a machine gun to hit him.

In their court application, the Khosa family called for the establishment of a “freely accessible mechanism” for the public to report allegations of torture or inhumane treatment by law enforcement officials like police, the SANDF and municipal police.

The mechanism would be resourced with a team of at least 20 qualified people from Ipid and the military ombud.

The team, it is suggested, would review all cases and recommend appropriate action, with progress reports every five days and a final report each month.

In its reply, Ipid maintained that this mechanism would stretch its already thin human resources. – News24 Wire

Municipal police in the vicinity were not involved