Witness alleges police accepted bribe in murder case

Today, a resident of Khayelitsha, Mrs X, shared a story in which her son was shot by a group of young men. We have withheld her name for her safety.

Her son was having a relationship with a woman, Yonela (name also changed). Yonela’s ex-boyfriend and his friends arrived at their family home late one night in 2010. They knocked on the door claiming to be police.

Mrs X let the boys in, who then demanded to know where her son was. He was in the house at the time. They took him away at gunpoint. They also took a TV, DVDs and cellphones. He was later found dead. He had been shot five times.

Police obtained descriptions of the vehicles used by the assailants. Later that night, based on this information they apprehended the young men who were suspected of the murder. They were taken to the body by the assailants, who described how they had killed the man. The stolen goods were found in the possession of the accused, who were wearing clothes covered in blood when they were arrested. They found blood in the back of one vehicle, as well as bloody clothes and other physical evidence. Five men were arrested and charged with murder and kidnapping.

Yonela had also explained to the police that she knew they were planning on killing the witness’s son. The physical evidence for the case is strong. A conviction seemed the reasonable outcome. Mrs X stated that she was impressed with how quickly the accused were apprehended, and the thorough work of the investigating officer.

Subsequently, a new investigator was assigned to the case. The case has been postponed numerous times. Mrs X stated that the new investigator disclosed that the family of the accused had begged him not to proceed with the investigation and offered him a bribe. It was at this point that the case has stalled and no clear progress has been made.

The five who were originally arrested were released on bail in 2011. Mrs X testified that she believes that the investigator accepted the bribe. Adv. Arendse, the lead SAPS legal counsel, conceded that this sounded highly irregular and that he would follow up on the investigation. Given that so much physical evidence existed, it is unclear why the case is still ongoing and why no one has been convicted.

A source familiar with evidence before the Commission stated that while the allegations have only arisen in this case, he believes the investigating officer has done other similar things and that “there is a lot more to it [than just this case]”.