Ann Eveleth
Three policemen facing murder charges in connection with the Christmas 1995 Shoba-shobane massacre of 19 African National Congress supporters are back at work in neighbouring Nkulu ward, police confirmed this week.
Sergeants Bekeni Mngadi, Muzuvukile Ngeleka and Joseph Zulu were suspended from their posts at the Izingolweni police station in May after their arrest by the special investigation team set up to probe the massacre. They are expected to appear in court again on September 30, together with 33 fellow accused.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Chris Serfontein has, however, lifted their suspensions “due to the fact that the evidence against the members rested on questionable identification based on rather flimsy evidence”, according to a written reply by Deputy National Police Commissioner Morgan Chetty.
Chetty was responding to a query on the matter by Natal violence monitor Mary de Haas, who slammed the move as “utterly reprehensible” and “callous in the extreme”.
De Haas alleged that the three sergeants had “boasted about their victory in being allowed to return to the station. I cannot believe this situation is allowed to continue, especially given the ongoing violence in the area. People continue to be killed in Nkulu ward, not far from the police station.” She called for the officers to be removed from the area.
Chetty said: “The provincial commissioner had no alternative, after consideration of all the facts present, but to reinstate the members … Due to the lack of sufficient and concrete evidence against any of the members concerned, this office is not in a position to transfer any of the members.”
Superintendent Dougie Hannaway, who heads the South Coast National Investigation Task Unit which succeeded the special investigation team, said while he personally favoured the suspension of police members charged with murder, Serfontein had reinstated the three officers after they “made representations against their suspension”.
While Hannaway agreed it was “possible” the three suspects could use their office to interfere with witnesses, “so far no witnesses have complained of interference”.
Hannaway added that the accused had been granted bail — along with their fellow accused, including Inkatha Freedom Party South Coast leader James Zulu — with the belief that they would not pose a danger to witnesses. Any attempt to do so would endanger their bail, he said.
In a related matter, Hannaway said reports that James Zulu had violated his bail conditions by attending political meetings in the run-up to KwaZulu-Natal’s recent local government elections were “not necessarily true”. While Zulu’s bail conditions prevented him from attending such meetings, he could — and in several instances had — obtained authorisation from the unit to do so.
“There were quite a few meetings he was given authorisation to attend. He had letters from Minister [Mangosuthu] Buthelezi and from local government,” said Hannaway. Zulu was elected to the Port Shepstone City Council during the polls.