Deadly confrontations: KwaZulu-Natal cops face off against armed criminals

Cops in KwaZulu-Natal – under former task force commander Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi – are proving deadly in their fight against crime as armed criminals who cross their paths are finding out, with at least 20 killed this year so far.

In KwaZulu-Natal, 18 people are killed daily, 23 raped daily, there are 21 attempted murders each day and 83 people are victims of common assault every day.

The third-quarter crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele for the period of October 2023 to December 2023 revealed that in KwaZulu-Natal, contact crimes increased by 4.7% from 29 767 in October 2022 to December 2022 to 31 155 in October 2023 to December 2023.

In the top 10 for the highest number of murders were KwaZulu-Natal policing districts which included Inanda, KwaMashu and uMlazi. Inanda police station recorded 93 murders, KwaMashu 52 and uMlazi 59 during the three-month period.

There also had been many scenarios where police involved in shoot-outs resulting in criminals being killed.

Police not on top of violent crime

KwaZulu-Natal violence monitor and social justice advocate Mary de Haas said the shooting of a number of criminals was a sign that police were not on top of violent crime.

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According to De Haas, there were dangerous criminals out there and one did not know if the police would have to kill them, or if they were just shooting without trying to disable them first.

“The problem is if they are criminals and they’re killed, then dead men tell no tales. So, you actually don’t find out about their networks,” she said.

“Even if the police need to shoot armed criminals because they have often said they have to, but it has turned out with people coming forward and saying police did not need to. Because of the corruption in the police, these people may also be shot dead before they can expose corrupt policemen.”

Ipid in KZN dysfunctional

De Haas said, generally, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) in KwaZulu-Natal was quite dysfunctional and did not investigate cases properly.

“There are cases in which people are tortured or killed by police. I have a whole lot of cases that have been reported and there’s a lot of evidence,” she said.

De Haas said the real question was why were so many people armed. She said this meant police intelligence were not doing its work properly.

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“Where do those guns come from?” she asked

“We know that some of the guns in the hands of criminals come from the police because we have official statistics about guns going missing from the police and the military sometimes.

“And especially if you get guns like automatic and semiautomatic, they are often used by police. We know that they go missing from the police,” she added.

“The other problem is that there are far too many guns in the hands of security companies, which are not properly monitored. There’s a lot of companies out there operating without even being registered.”

Shootout between police and criminals

With the gruesome murders of a 48-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter in Emachobeni, Inanda, in KZN, a shootout ensued between police and the criminals, which resulted in the demise of the prime suspects.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the four men, believed to be behind the heinous crime, died during the shoot-out last Saturday.

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Two of South Africa’s most wanted people, who police were looking for in connection with inter-provincial cash-in-transit robberies, were also killed in a shoot-out with police in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal, last Saturday.

The two men killed were linked to house robberies and farm attacks.

According to Netshiunda, police intercepted the men’s vehicle in this case and on noticing the police’s presence, the men started firing shots at the officers, who then retaliated.

Set up a judicial body and forensic audit

De Haas said the only way to deal with this gun problem was to set up a judicial body and to do a forensic audit to establish where the guns are coming from.

“We know even in the police – when criminals are found with guns, you ask yourself what sort of research is done to find out where they come from? The other thing is ammunition – [there are] huge quantities of ammunition [out there],” she said.

Cele revealed there were 22 police officers killed across the country and KZN recorded the highest number of police killings, which sat at eight.

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De Haas said there were also good police members whose lives were at risk from crooked cops.

“So, when police die, you do not know if they’re good guys who are just doing their jobs properly, but they have stumbled on corruption among their colleagues, so they get taken out by them,” she said.

De Haas said the problem was not a matter of getting to grips with crimes to do this.

She said to add complication, forensic mortuaries were also dysfunctional.

“This is crucial forensic evidence. It also makes a difference if you want to find out if the police had to shoot someone dead because the forensic evidence and the crime scene will be crucial. But this is not properly done. It’s shambolic at the moment,” she said.

Police linked to high number of killings

Institute for Security Studies consultant on policing David Bruce said statistics from Ipid showed police in KZN being linked to a high number of killings than police in any other province for a long time.

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Bruce said there were also many more incidents in the province where multiple suspects were killed.

“It is difficult to know what is behind these figures. Ipid is generally not able to investigate these incidents effectively. Saps [South African Police Service] members in units that are linked to a lot of killings should be required to wear body cameras,” he said.

“Ipid should have direct access to the footage from these incidents. Until Ipid has access to this kind of footage on these incidents, it will be impossible to know with confidence what is behind the high number of killings in the province.”