Police brutality trial postponed after startling audio recording emerges

Regan Naidoo’s mother and widow, Cookie and Kerosha Naidoo (centre) surrounded by Naidoo’s uncles, aunts and cousins outside the Durban Magistrate’s Court. Photo: Benita Enoch

• The trial of 14 officers accused of torturing and murdering Regan Naidoo in police custody in 2018 was postponed moments before starting.
• Defence lawyers said they had obtained an audio recording that allegedly involves one of the accused communicating with a state witness, prompting concerns about trial fairness.
• The case was postponed to allow for the audio recording to be investigated.
• Naidoo’s family members, who have waited seven years for justice, were in tears outside court as the case was postponed until August 2025.

The police brutality trial involving 14 police officers accused of torturing and murdering Regan Naidoo was postponed on Monday, moments before it was due to begin.

The case, which has spent years in pre-trial proceedings, was scheduled to finally commence in the Durban Magistrates’ Court. But instead, it was halted by an urgent application for a postponement. Defence lawyers revealed that they had obtained an audio recording, allegedly of a conversation between a state witness and at least one of the accused.

Naidoo, 31, was arrested at a Chatsworth petrol station in August 2018. Police suspected he was in possession of a firearm linked to an unrelated matter. By the early hours of the next morning, he had been taken to RK Khan Hospital, where he was declared dead.

His family reported it to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). More than 20 police officers were later arrested, 14 of whom still face charges including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, torture and defeating the course of justice.

On Monday, defence attorneys Christo Swart, Shane Matthews, Avir Maharaj and Carl van der Merwe jointly requested an adjournment. Swart told the court that the recording indicated “serious irregularities” and that the recording has been reported to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) national director Shamila Batohi.

Matthews described the contents as “seriously unethical” and said he didn’t listen to the full recording, fearing he might be implicated. “An investigation may or may not render the trial unfair,” he said.

Senior public prosecutor Roshiela Benimadho, said that the state was ready for trial but did not oppose the postponement, agreeing that the audio recording should be fully investigated.

Magistrate Mayne Mewalall expressed concern that a case involving such serious allegations had remained in limbo for seven years. She warned that any attempt by the accused to directly or indirectly communicate with state witnesses would be regarded as a grave infringement.

She granted a provisional postponement until 14 August 2025.

Naidoo’s family in tears

Naidoo’s family members gathered outside the courtroom, some in tears. His widow, who was pregnant at the time of his death, said she always suspected the defence might try to delay proceedings but was unprepared for the emotional blow.

“Seven years, almost to the day, he was taken from us, and we still haven’t even begun to get justice,” she said. “This has been our daily life of waiting. The kids ask for updates, and every time I have to tell them, there’s nothing.”

For the first time since the matter was placed on the roll, Naidoo’s mother, Cookie, has attended. She said she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to face the accused.

“I didn’t know how I was going to look at those men,” she said. “But I came. And I’ve forgiven them. If the Lord still loves them, who am I to hate? I’ve released them.”

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