Stefaans Brmmer
POLICE and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) are looking at “all possible causes” of the car accident in which police assistant commissioner Leonard Radu died last week – including the possibility of foul play.
Radu, the most senior former African National Congress cadre integrated into the new South African Police Service (SAPS), headed Internal Security – successor to the old Security Branch – and was tipped as future national police commissioner.
Radu died shortly before 6.30am last Wednesday when his Mercedes veered across the divider on the R24 highway near Johannesburg International Airport and collided with an oncoming car.
Director Bushy Engelbrecht, commander of the SAPS Pretoria headquarters Special Investigations Unit and investigating officer in the case, this week said as far as he knew the probe was the most extensive yet into a car accident. “Such an investigation has not been done before … We are looking at all possibilities.”
Engelbrecht said the post mortem last Friday had been attended by two state pathologists, a general practitioner acting for the Radu family and a pathologist representing Jesse Duarte, the Gauteng MEC for Safety and Security. The preliminary finding was that Radu had died instantly from severe chest injuries, but Engelbrecht said organ samples had been taken and were being tested, inter alia, for signs of poisoning.
A full forensic examination of Radu’s Mercedes was started on Monday, attended by police experts and representatives from Mercedes Benz, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Automobile Association and the NIA – a sign that the intelligence body also has a stake in ascertaining whether there was more to the accident than meets the eye.
Radu was the police representative on the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (Nicoc), which collates intelligence from South Africa’s police, military and civilian intelligence agencies. Nicoc head Linda Mti this week confirmed the NIA was involved in the investigation, saying it was standard policy for the body to investigate all unnatural deaths of its officers.
“Radu was such an officer though his membership of [Nicoc]. It is also policy of NIA not to comment on the scope and specific areas of its investigations.”
At the time of his death, Radu was centrally involved in a number of sensitive investigations. They are believed to include a matter relating to the current activities of impimpi – police informers – within the liberation movement and the mysterious drugs-related disappearance of Soweto socialite Rocks Dhlamini. A son of Dhlamini and at least one potential witness have died in questionable circumstances since Dhlamini’s disappearance.
Radu also started an investigation into the possibility of a wider conspiracy in the assassination of Communist Party leader Chris Hani after the Mail & Guardian raised that possibility earlier this year.
Engelbrecht said this week: “We are aware of the possibility that he was doing certain work … but first we have to ascertain whether the cause [of his death] was natural or due to other causes.”
Colleagues and acquaintances have told the M&G there was some speculation Radu might have lost control of his car because he might have been using his cellphone or because of an old injury to his left arm – he was shot a number of years ago during a robbery in Hillbrow. Engelbrecht said records did not show Radu using his cell at the time of the accident, although these did not rule out the possibility he had been preparing to make a call. He confirmed there was evidence Radu had “slight” problems with his left hand.
Engelbrecht appealed to witnesses, especially people who might have been driving in the same direction as Radu – along the R24, near the Isando turn-off, towards Johannesburg International Airport – to contact him. He would also like to speak to four people who stopped to help at the scene of the accident, but who later drove on. One of the four was said to have known Radu.