Nomsa Masuku, a senior investigator at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), has accused SAPS officers of wrongdoing for not reporting to Ipid the murder case of Emmanuel Mbense.
Image: Chris Collingridge / Independent Newspapers Archives
Nomsa Masuku, senior investigator at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), has accused SAPS officers of wrongdoing for failing to report to Ipid the murder of Emmanuel Mbense, a Brakpan man whose body was found dumped in a dam with bloody injuries in April 2022.
Testifying at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, Masuku recounted that she first got involved in the case after a colleague's call from SAPS Parktown, relaying a message that the deceased family came to complain that their son was found dead after police visited his home.
She arranged to meet with the family to conduct a preliminary investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mbense's death.
She testified that she went to Duduza police station to obtain the case docket that was initially registered as an inquest after learning that Mbense's body was found in a dam near the township.
The docket, she said, contained a witness statement that stated that police visited Mbense's house before he disappeared.
She told the commission that she was puzzled by the police's action for not reporting the case to Ipid despite finding Mbense's driver's licence and ID card in his pocket, which led them to his residence.
Masuku presented witness testimony to the commission, revealing that a tenant told the SAPS that police visited Mbense's house on the night he disappeared, and the next day, the house was in disarray.
Emmanuel Mbense was brutally killed on April 15, 2022. His body was discovered the following day in Duduza Dam in Nigel, Gauteng. His car keys and driver’s licence were in his pocket.
Image: AfriForum
She said the SAPS incorrectly registered Mbense's case as an inquest, despite his body showing signs of injury and blood when discovered.
"Because they can see that this person was killed, they must register the docket as murder so that it can be investigated to establish what actually transpired to this person. It was for the SAPS to report that matter to Ipid," Masuku said.
She said that if the SAPS had alerted Ipid to attend the scene, the investigation would not have taken five years to conclude.
"To reclassify the case as a murder case, I visited Heidelberg pathology services. That was during May 2022 to obtain the post-mortem examination report that was going to reflect the cause of death," she said.
She said the reason was to confirm first if the deceased did not die of natural causes.
The report, she said, confirmed that the deceased's cause of death was a head injury due to blunt force trauma, necessitating the reclassification of the docket from inquest to murder case.
On May 2, 2022, Masuku received a call from Mbense's mother, who informed her that a white man who identified himself as Alexander Frits from the Hawks came to see her.
Frits allegedly told Mbense's mom that he was investigating a robbery involving a truck.
Masuku said the evidence was collected from the mother by Frits, who told Mbense's mother that her son's truck was under investigation.
Frits allegedly stated that no one should drive the truck, as they could be charged with possession of stolen property.
According to Masuku, Frits, who is a police reservist, misrepresented his identity by claiming to be from the Hawks. "He was wearing a cap written ‘Hawks’," she said.
Masuku testified that Frits allegedly told Mbense's mother that if other investigators could come asking questions, she should inform him first.
Earlier, Ipid's Acting National Head of Investigations, Thuso Keefelakae, testified that suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi is also implicated in the investigation of Mbense's death.
"The police visited Mbense to inquire about a stolen truck alleged to have been involved in stolen goods. There were allegations that Mbense didn't provide the requested information, and as a result, he was assaulted by those officers who were attending," he said.
Keefelakae said Mbense's body was discovered by a fisherman who alerted the police.
He cited that Mbense's murder docket has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a decision on possible prosecution.
"The decision will be made before the end of this month," said Keefelakae
Masuku's testimony will resume on Thursday.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za