TRC cases focus of new cold case squad

THE SAPS and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions are working hard to catch killers who may have thought they had gotten away with the perfect murder, including the case of Struggle fighter Ashley James Kriel, and Imam Haron.

These historic cases include the murders of Kriel and anti-apartheid activist Haron, which form part of Truth and Reconciliation Commission-related cases.

Police confirmed Kriel’s case was at an advanced stage.

Haron’s case will be heard at the Cape High Court from November 7-18, 2022.

With its newly-formed Cold Case Squad, the police has hand-picked two officers and seven non-commissioned officers, together with the DPP to solve cases shelved or removed from the court roll due to no arrests, lack of witnesses or vanished dockets.

This week, the SAPS gave insight into their elite unit, which had solved a 10-year-old case.

The merits and circumstances of the investigation were shared with Weekend Argus after the accused was sentenced to three years behind bars.

The team are currently revisiting six cases in Leeu Gamka.

Mario Masoes, 32, pleaded guilty to an incident which occurred on September 22, 2019, when he was involved in an altercation with the victim, Piet Jacobs, 27.

Masoes had beaten Jacobs with a gemsbok horn which resulted in Jacobs’s death.

Captain Frederick van Wyk, police spokesperson, said as the case proceeded, it was struck off the court roll due to an incomplete investigation.

Once the unit was assigned, the case was finalised, with Masoes receiving a three-year sentence for culpable homicide.

“The detectives at Cold Case Investigation, Western Cape, were identified and selected from serving detectives and not re-enlistments,” said Van Wyk.

“The unit currently comprises two officers and seven non-commissioned officers, and resides under the command of the Provincial Head: Organised Crime, Western Cape.

“Since inception in the Western Cape they received a conviction for a murder committed in Leeu Gamka in 2012. This formed part of the six cases from Leeu Gamka being revisited,” he said.

“The unit is also responsible for the investigation of two TRC-related cases. Currently, all cold case matters under investigation by the unit are guided by senior prosecutors from the office of the DPP, Western Cape,” Van Wyk said.

Kriel, of Bonteheuwel, had re-entered South Africa in 1987 after being in exile.

While being in isolation for protection purposes, he was ambushed by men who shot him. The men were police posing as municipal workers.

In June, the DPP announced a new inquest into Haron’s case, to determine whether he died as a result of falling down a flight of stairs or if he was murdered while in police detention in 1969.

During a media briefing last week, Western Cape Director for Public Prosecutions, advocate Nicolette Bell, stated that their teams would assist police in the investigation of cases that had no arrest, no suspect, or where the matter had been struck off the roll, and aimed to re-enrol these cases.

She said cases where witnesses had gone missing and were reluctant to testify were also on the agenda.

Bell explained their main agenda was to exhaust all forensic tools to solve a crime, to monitor the further outstanding investigation with a view of re-enrolment, to identify possible serial matters and to refer matters where no further action can be taken for an inquest.