The lead investigator in the killing of Emmanuel Mbhense has told the Madlanga commission that a police reservist visited the family days after Mbhense’s funeral and falsely claimed to be a member of the Hawks.
Mbhense was allegedly tortured and killed on April 15 2022. It is alleged that Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) and SAPS members were involved in his murder.
A postmortem later confirmed he died from head injuries. His body was discovered the following day at Duduza Dam in Nigel, with his car keys and driver’s licence still in his possession.
Testifying on Wednesday, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) investigator Nomsa Masuku said she became involved in the case after receiving a colleague’s call from Parktown SAPS saying Mbhense’s family was complaining that he had died following police visits to his home.
Masuku said when she met the family, they informed her that after the funeral a man later identified as Alexander Frits had approached Mbhense’s mother, claiming he was investigating a truck robbery case. Frits is one of the people whose names appear in the Ipid report implicating him in Mbhense’s murder.
When it is clear that a person was killed, the docket must be registered as murder so that investigators can establish what actually happened. SAPS was also obliged to report the matter to Ipid
— Nomsa Masuku, Ipid investigator
According to Masuku, Frits warned the family not to use or move Mbhense’s vehicle, telling them they could face charges for being in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Masuku also criticised the initial police handling of the case, saying SAPS wrongly registered the matter as an inquest despite visible injuries and blood on Mbhense’s body when it was discovered.
“When it is clear that a person was killed, the docket must be registered as murder so that investigators can establish what actually happened. SAPS was also obliged to report the matter to Ipid,” Masuku said.
She added that had Ipid been called to the scene immediately, the investigation would not have taken nearly five years to reach its current stage.
Earlier in the day, Ipid’s acting head of investigations, Thuso Keefelakae, told the commission that the National Prosecuting Authority is expected to make a prosecutorial decision before the end of the month.
According to national police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe, four of the 12 individuals allegedly linked to Mbhense’s killing have since died
Police have confirmed that investigations revealed that 12 people were at the scene of Mbhense’s murder. According to national police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe, four of the 12 individuals allegedly linked to Mbhense’s killing have since died.
Const Raymond Mzwakhe Khoza, 36, an EMPD officer, was shot dead at his Tsakane home in October 2023 after responding to a neighbour’s call for assistance.
Police informant Jaco Hanekom was killed at a filling station in March 2023.
Another figure, Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe — known as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission — had implicated Wiandre Pretorius in Mbhense’s death before he himself was murdered in December.
Police later named Pretorius as a person of interest in that killing. Pretorius died over the weekend, days after surviving an apparent attack in which his vehicle was riddled with bullets. He died by suicide.
Masuku is expected to give further testimony about the case on Thursday.
Sowetan
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