The sentencing this week of Donovan Moodley for the murder of Leigh Matthews has brought into the spotlight the efforts by the police to solve other highly publicised murders.
On Thursday, Moodley was sentenced to life by the Johannesburg High Court.
The police have received accolades all-round for the swift manner in which they apprehended Moodley, and brought such overwhelming evidence against him that he had no option but to plead guilty. Their success has, however, raised questions about whether an equal effort is being made to solve the murders of the Mbhele sisters, Nelisiwe (12) and Lindiwe (15), of Nancefield, Soweto, or to get to the bottom of the disappearance of Hammanskraal policewoman Frances Rasuge.
In solving the Matthews case, the police deployed some of their best brains and employed cellphone technology to track down the killer. Similar expertise was used to crack the murder of FW de Klerk’s ex-wife, Marieke.
As Moodley was being sentenced, Gauteng minister of community safety Firoz Cachalia was at the Kliptown police station for a briefing from the team investigating the Mbhele murders. Last Sunday, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka told a 60 000-strong prayer meeting in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, that she was confident the police were doing their best to solve the crime.
The closest the police have come to saying that Rasuge is dead, was the announcement by the National Prosecuting Authority that the police constable’s ex-boyfriend, William Nkuna, would be charged with her murder.
A senior policeman with close knowledge of the investigation into the Rasuge disappearance has told the Mail & Guardian that the perception that the Matthews case was treated more urgently is wrong.
He said police had identified a suspect in the Rasuge disappearance within four days of the complaint being laid. Nkuna was apprehended after police stakeouts at his house.
”In the Matthews case, we had a guy who is not a career criminal and, therefore, broke as soon as police cornered him,” the policeman said. ”I don’t understand why people would think that we would be indifferent to a crime committed against one of our members.
”In the Rasuge matter, it is a different case because there you have someone who has been in a brush with the law before and is tougher to break,” said the policeman.
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation researcher Gareth Newham said that if the impression had been created that the police had given the Matthews case better treatment, then it was wrong.
”In the Mattthews case [the] police had cellphone records to work with, and a call had been made to say she had been kidnapped. In the Rasuge matter, [the] police do not even have a body, there are no cellphone records. There isn’t much evidence to work with,” said Newham.
He added: ”I am sure it becomes very tempting to use rough methods. If they do, the police might find the body but they may not be able to prosecute because the discovery would be ‘fruit from a poisoned tree’. That would not be allowed in court.”