Frustration mounts as case against 17 cops who allegedly tortured, killed Chatsworth man is again postponed

It was difficult for magistrate Maryn Mewalal to contain her frustration at the Durban magistrate’s court on Wednesday when it became clear that the matter of 17 police officers accused of torturing and murdering Chatsworth resident Regan Naidoo in 2018 would again have to be postponed.  

Wednesday had been set down at the last August appearance as the date for a pre-trial conference, but a proliferation of “he said, she said” — as Mewalal described the to-and-fro about who was responsible for the latest delay — took up the entire sitting. 

Former state prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay, who is acting as defence advocate for accused Rajen Saunders, had suggested 1 November as the new pre-trial date, but Mewalal responded sharply that it would be “unconscionable” to set the matter down “two months from now”. 

Prior to this, Pillay had told the magistrate that “defence is not ready to set the matter down for pre-trial” and that there had been “unreasonable delays” by the state — a reference to the wait Pillay had experienced for particulars — which she said prejudiced her client.

There was a delay, said Mewalal, but it was not unreasonable, given the court had not set a timeframe for the furnishing of the particulars. She said there were also no grounds for a section 342A enquiry (an investigation into the delays) “at this time”.  

The delays were “déjà vu”, Mewalal said.

“The goalposts always seem to be changing, for whatever reasons,” she said, adding however that there had been progress in the matter, although it was “small”.

“I am anxious to set the trial date. It has been far too long on the court roll. All the matters discussed here have been discussed before,” said Mewalal.

While this was playing out, family and friends of the accused — all out on R3 000 bail — and the victim, were seated in the gallery, also visibly frustrated.

The accused, barring number 15 Eric Carson, who was undergoing knee-replacement surgery, stood casually in the dock and overflowed behind the dock, none appearing particularly anxious. They managed to laugh or smile when Carson’s attorney, Christo van Schalkwyk, cracked a joke.

Mewalal said it would not be “prudent” for the court to continue with Carson not present.

Naidoo’s family has been searching for answers since his father, Timothy, was told by a police captain that Regan died after “choking on a pie” while being questioned at the Chatsworth police station six years ago.

Naidoo was taken in for questioning after alleged hitman Xolani Zunga was shot dead by Chatsworth resident Fardeem Carim, just days before Naidoo’s death.

According to various media reports from the time, Carim witnessed Zungu kill two men. He then shot Zungu using a gun licensed to his deceased father and allegedly also took Zungu’s gun and sold it for R3 000.  

Carim was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2020.

It was allegedly the search for the firearm that led to the torture and death of Regan just days later, and the torture and attempted murder of Carim, while police were interrogating the men, and one Ahmed Dawood, regarding the whereabouts of the weapon.

In their 2021 bail conditions, the accused were ordered not to directly or indirectly contact Carim or Dawood, among other named witnesses.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has said that Naidoo, Dawood and Carim were “picked up from a Caltex Garage on Montford Drive, Chatsworth” at 10pm on 28 August, 2018, for questioning about the weapon. The officers involved in the investigation were attached to the Durban flying squad, the KwaZulu-Natal organised crime unit, the Chatsworth trio crimes unit and the Durban K9 unit.

The officers took Naidoo to his home while they searched for the gun. It was here that he was allegedly assaulted by the police officers for the first time. This, according to Timothy Naidoo, took place in front of his son’s then-pregnant wife.

The three men were then taken to Chatsworth police station for the questioning to continue. According to Ipid’s investigation, Naidoo had “collapsed at the station” by 3am on 29 August.

It remains unclear how long Naidoo was at the police station while in this state. Ipid said he was eventually transported to RK Khan Hospital, about one kilometre away, in a police vehicle, and declared dead.

According to a post mortem examination report conducted by a specialist forensic pathologist at the time of Naidoo’s death, which the Mail & Guardian has seen, the 32-year-old security technician died from a blunt force head injury.

Naidoo also sustained multiple fractured ribs, lung contusions and subdural haemorrhage. Two ribs were noted as being “exposed”.

He had no traces or alcohol or illegal drugs in his system, as per a blood toxicology analysis.

The pre-trial conference was eventually scheduled for 18 October.