The wrong man

Noseweek Issue #149, 1st March 2012   


The wrong man

A shock exposé by the Sunday Times in December of what was alleged to be a police “death squad” based in Durban, has effectively closed down the Organised Crime Unit that deals with serious violent crimes such as cash-in-transit heists, armed robberies, serial killers and serial rapists. Given that KwaZulu-Natal has frequently topped the list of South Africa's most murderous provinces, by all accounts this is a serious setback for crime prevenion.

Thoshan Panday and Colonel Navin Madhoe are alleged to have conned  the press with doctored dossiers. Both face serious corruption charges and have an axe to grind with the head of the Hawks in KZN, Major-General Booysen, the man the minister has suspended as a result of the Sunday Times exposé.

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Keywords:
Johan Booysen
Cato Manor
Hawks
Police death squad
Sunday Times
Nathi Mthethwa
Minister of Police
Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD)
ICD
Innocent Khuba
Mamunye Ngobeni
Rajen Aiyer
Navin Madoe
Thoshan Panday
Bribery
State capture
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Reader's comments

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Submitted by : Toni Goncalves of Johannesburg on 2012-03-03 15:09:56
The Sunday Times is a company in severe difficulties with very little journalistic talent left among their reporters.
They show the signs of ill experience, and are frequently if not conveniently duped by outside vested interests.
I wonder which high ranking politician pulled the strings after being paid off by the suspects?
 
Submitted by : Don Pearce of Noordhoek on 2012-02-29 16:42:39
Having read the comments by Heather and Nico, plus the Ed's note, there is little left to say. It is sad to see the decline of what was once a source of journalism one could quote with relative confidence. Is this now SA's equivalent of the UK's Murdoch depravity?
 
Submitted by : of Noordhoek on 2012-02-28 15:11:18
You know, I once trusted the Sunday Times, but it seems to have gone off the rails these past few years. I am going to cancel my subscription if I can, at least not renew it. I think City Press does a far better job and that where my money goes and where I hope I will obtain more reliable exposes.
Nico Nel
 
Submitted by : Jenny Smith of Hyper By The Sea on 2012-02-27 23:22:28
The Sunday Times should hang their head in shame for buying into this slanted reporting without double checking their facts. I was shocked when I opened my Sunday Times and saw this so called "Exposé". The alleged victims were all hardened criminals and it was so obvious to me that the one picture had been photo shopped.
I hope that Johann Booysen's legal challenge turns the spotlight back on the real perpetrators and that they get the jail time that is due to them.
I will be cancelling my subscription to the Sunday Times with immediate effect.

Editor's Note
Whether the killings were extra-judicial or not, the questions are: Did the Sunday Times fail to question the motives of the source(s) and secondly the authenticity of the claims?

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