Alarming death toll: 149 fatalities in KZN police operations with no convictions

A staggering 149 fatalities emerged from 77 police task-team operations in KwaZulu-Natal, yet not a single officer has faced conviction. These figures surfaced during a week of alarming testimony before the Madlanga Commission, where the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) alleged that specialized units meant to combat organized crime may have become mired in the very criminal networks they were intended to dismantle.

The IPID testified that these specialized units allegedly intersected with the realms of drugs, taxis, and tow-truck turf wars.

Deputy IPID Director Len John pointed out that 77 of these cases involved 149 deaths during police operations deemed as shootouts. Notably, no task-team member has been convicted in these incidents. The testimony delved into how these deaths occurred and the aftermath. Allegations were raised that task teams, created to fight Cash-In-Transit robberies, were being used to target suspected CIT criminals, taxi operators, and individuals connected to rival drug networks.

Some officers allegedly operated with the mindset of "going out to kill" rather than arresting suspects.

IPID also raised concerns about delayed crime-scene reporting, which meant investigators arrived after officers had left the scene. Instances were found where the available evidence did not support police claims that suspects had fired first. The inquiry expanded to include allegations that parts of KwaZulu-Natal's tow-truck industry were embedded in turf wars, corruption, and the illicit drug trade.

Police officials were accused of being paid for referrals after crashes, while some tow-truck operators allegedly paid corrupt officers to protect vehicles suspected of drug transportation from being searched.

The inquiry also touched upon several violent incidents involving alleged payments of corrupt SAPS officials by towing operators, especially for road collisions. Notorious towing operators in and around Durban included those linked to Durban South Towing and Panel Beaters, involved in alleged shootings of Allan Subramoney, Jonathan David Thomas, Marlin Stuart, and Thomas, as well as the fatal shooting of Kalvin Perisamy, a Blood Gang leader in the taxi and towing industries, on June 6, 2018.

The killing of Bevan Loftus garnered significant attention, with his father, retired warrant officer Gregory Loftus, testifying about his son's death amid allegations of a police operation mistaken for a legitimate Cash-In-Transit intervention being a targeted killing.

A significant development was the evidence from an anonymous SAPS officer, known as "Witness P," who testified in camera due to safety concerns. His testimony concerned an undercover counterintelligence operation involving an alleged organized drug syndicate. The revelations from this week suggest the issue extends beyond a single police unit or investigation; it raises the uncomfortable possibility that criminal networks may have infiltrated or exploited parts of the structures meant to dismantle them.

The central question before the commission, after hearing these testimonies, is why, if 149 people died in 77 task-team cases, no police officer has been convicted. The commission has yet to make final findings, but the focus now shifts beyond the criminals the police were supposed to pursue.