Highlights of an arresting career
After attending the Hindu Tamil Primary School, Haffajee completed his schooling at Sastri College and then attended the police training college in Wentworth. He was admitted to the police force in 1974.
His was first stationed at the Pietermaritzburg SAPS in Loop Street.
“It was difficult back in the day, due to apartheid. We were treated as second class, but we made the best of it.”
In 1975, Haffajee was sent to Mountain Rise SAPS as a constable. He also worked in Richmond in 1998, as branch commander during the political unrest there.
In 1980 he was promoted to sergeant, and made warrant officer in 1993, then captain in 1996. After 18 years as captain, Haffajee was promoted to major this year.
His first arrest was at the Northdale Soccer ground.
“It was in 1975, a man had been urinating in public. I arrested and charged him.”
His first arrest was a drop in the ocean, as it were, compared to the many high profile cases Haffajee has been linked to over the years, but he downplays his big breakthroughs. He attributed his successes to team work. “Every arrest and every conviction was due to team work and assistance from the community.”
He added that he would miss his partner, Sizwe Makathini, with whom he worked until his retirement. He believes that success in the police comes with experience.
“You have to work your way from the bottom to the top. You can’t just start at the top.”
His advice to those wanting to join the police service: “The police service is not an easy road. You have to put your heart and soul into it. It is not just a job.
“You need passion to overcome the hurdles you face on a daily basis. There are still policemen out there who work their butts off just for job satisfaction.”
The grandfather of nine is married to Ronel, a former captain in the police force who is medically boarded.
He has four children – Ridwan, 34, an advocate at the public protector’s office, Farhana, 32, an HR manager at a lab, Nazlee Ketley, 24, a housewife and Cherize, 21, an environmental science student. POST lists some of Major Pipes
Haffajee’s arrests and convictions over the years.
KALISHA RAJCOMAR CONVICTED killer Kalisha Rajcomar is serving an 18-year sentence in a maximum security section at Westville Prison for the murder of her child’s father, Sandesh Pooran, in 2009. Pooran’s charred body was recovered by police a few days after he went missing at an isolated spot near the Wartburg and Bishopstowe intersection. Pooran bragged to his friends that he would be spending the night at a motel with his former lover and mother of his child which led to the arrest.
Rajcomar’s husband, Amith Sewkarran, 26, was sentenced for his role in the murder and is serving 14 years. RAYLIN DEVNARAIN In March 2009, Raelin Devnarain, 6, was killed in a brutal hammer attack and his mother Pradhantha was left fighting for her life.
Their gardener, Zamo Eric Hadebe, 27, and co-accused Lucky Zuma, 29, were each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 20 years for attempted murder and 15 for robbery.
MAALTHIE MOWNCHAN: In September 2011, retired nurse Maalthie Mownchan, 64, was stabbed to death in her Allandale home.
Mownchan’s daughter Sunalia, 20, discovered her mum’s body lying metres away from her car.
“We received a number of tip offs from POST readers who saw the picture (identikit) of the gardener. “Every lead was followed and we want to thank the community for their input,” said Haffajee at the time.
The gardener, Justin Mjoli, 19, and Mandlenkosi Dlamini, 26, pleaded guilty to the aggravated murder and robbery of Mownchan.
Each of the men was sentenced to life in prison for the murder and 15 years for robbery.
MADHAN MAHARAJ: AFTER almost six years of evading police, Pietermaritzburg murder accused Madhan Maharaj was arrested in 2012.
Maharaj, then 49, was nabbed at the Riverview Primary School in Phoenix where he worked as a caretaker and went by the name of Mac.
He was charged with the brutal murder of his wife Caroline, 32, at their home in September 2005, but escaped from Fort Napier in 2006 by jumping over the fence.
Working with Provincial Crime Intellegence, Haffajee arrested the suspect who is now serving 18 years in jail. SHAREEN PILLAY: TWO days after Gauteng mother Shareen Pillay was found on a Sandton street with 50 stab wounds, a man close to her was arrested in Pietermaritzburg in August 2014.
The 42-year-old suspect was under police supervision in a Pietermaritzburg hospital after apparently attempting to kill himself.