Justice demanded: Uncovering the truth of Kwazi Ndlovu's tragic end
MKP MP Des van Rooyen calls for investigation into National Prosecuting Authority head Shamila Batohi's alleged role in the 2010 killing of a 16-year-old boy in KwaZulu-Natal during a police operation.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has requested that the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) probe National Prosecuting Authority head Shamila Batohi. The request concerns her alleged role in the 2010 killing of 16-year-old Kwazi Ndlovu during a police operation in KwaZulu-Natal.
On Wednesday, MKP MP Des van Rooyen, accompanied by party members, filed a complaint against Batohi at the IDAC office in Pretoria.
Van Rooyen said: "What is at the centre of our affidavit that we have submitted at IDAC is a conduct of a certain police officer by the name of (Gonasagren) Padayachee and of course the conduct of Shamila Batohi, as well as a prosecutor who was charged with the responsibility of looking over the matter of a young boy who was killed under the pretext of self-defence during a police operation in KwaZulu-Natal."
Padayachee, a member of the Cato Manor death squad accused of shooting the boy, was acquitted of murder.
Kwazi Ndlovu, 16, was shot while asleep in 2010. A warrant officer who had been attached to the Durban Organised Crime Unit, previously known as the Cato Manor ‘Death Squad’, was acquitted of his muder. | Supplied
Image: Supplied
The MKP's move comes after revelations at the ongoing Nkabinde Inquiry into suspended Director of Public Prosecutions, Johannesburg, Andrew Chauke's fitness to hold office, which has motivated its call for Batohi to be investigated.
Batohi mentioned that she did not think Ndlovu's murder case would be relevant in the inquiry during a cross-examination led by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi for Chauke.
Chauke was suspended in July following allegations of quashing prosecutions against politically connected individuals, a move prompted by Batohi's request for disciplinary action nearly two years ago.
A panel led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Bess Nkabinde is currently examining Chauke's suitability to hold office, following President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to call the inquiry.
On Monday, Batohi unexpectedly withdrew herself from the inquiry where she had been testifying against Chauke, citing the need to seek legal advice.
Van Rooyen said MKP also went to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to file a complaint against Padayachee based on what came out of the Nkabinde Inquiry.
"It was confirmed that a boy of 16 years was killed under the pretext of self-defence, and also the submission that went to the Nkabinde Commission confirmed that they went further, even to plant a weapon, trying to justify the killing," he said.
Van Rooyen said the ballistic and forensic investigations established that there was no need for them to have killed a 16-year-old boy.
"Batohi went on to use her prosecutorial authority to justify that version of self-defence. She did this while there was, of course, overwhelming evidence of ballistics and forensics that demonstrated that that narrative was wrong," he said.
He said MKP wants IDAC to investigate and collect all the evidence that has been collected before the commission.
"It is too hot for Batohi at the commission. She literally even ran away. She demonstrated that she is very arrogant," he said.
He added that the MKP has always been convinced that Batohi "is not fit to lead that office and that is why we also called for her resignation long ago".
"But, unfortunately, that fell on deaf ears, but now everything is in the public and everyone can see what kind of a leader (she is). We expect justice to be done, especially for the family that lost a boy of 16 years old. We hope that those who are implicated will definitely face the law," Van Rooyen said.