Madlanga Commission: KZN Hawks Commander Govender to testify publicly

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Hawks Colonel Deena Govender appeared before the Madlanga Commission to explain unexplained millions deposited into his bank account. The payments, totaling up to R2.3 million, were made around a deadly police operation in Durban in 2023. In his testimony, Govender claimed R1.5 million was a loan from FNB, with the remaining funds coming from various sources.

However, his explanations were met with skepticism by commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson SC. Madlanga called Govender's account of events "nonsensical," while Chaskalson challenged him on conflicting explanations and questioned the legitimacy of some transactions. One source of the funds, Josh Chellin, was identified by Govender as a "paternal figure" who provided financial assistance.

However, Chaskalson pointed out that this differed from Govender's initial statement, which had identified Chellin as the money source. The commission also heard about over R300,000 in cash payments from S. Paardothman, who often visited casinos with large amounts of cash. Govender admitted taking R298,000 in cash to his accountant, Cassey Shamal, and asked Shamal to arrange for another client to pay him through an electronic transfer.

This arrangement, according to Chaskalson, had the "hallmark of money laundering." Govender previously claimed to have kept a spreadsheet documenting the sources of the money, but he could not independently recall the source of some transfers during his testimony. His evidence follows allegations by two KwaZulu-Natal witnesses that Govender was paid more than R2.5 million to kill Bevan Loftus.

The commission also noted that Govender made about 37 transactions in one day, many occurring within a period of just over an hour.