Alleged hit squad facing 16 more murder charges

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate said it believed the state had a strong case against the disbanded alleged police hit squad, notes a Sunday Tribune report. 'I can confirm that 16 charges of murder will be added, among others of defeating the ends of justice, such as tampering with crime scenes, manipulating them and planting guns,' directorate spokesperson Moses Dlamini is quoted as saying. NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga reportedly confirmed numerous additional charges would be added - including those related to the murder of taxi boss Bongani Mkhize and the killing of suspects who were wanted for the murder of policeman Superintendent Zethembe Chonco. Chonco, who commanded the Taxi Task Team under the Organised Crime Unit, was killed in an ambush in 2008. Seven suspects wanted in connection with Chonco's murder were killed by members of the unit when they allegedly resisted arrest. Mkhize (44) died just three months after he had made an extraordinary High Court application calling for police not to kill him, notes the report. It was reported that he had allegedly opened fire on police while driving on Umgeni Road, Durban, in February 2009. Officers from the Cato Manor organised crime and national intervention units reportedly returned fire and Mkhize was killed. Full Sunday Tribune report

Meanwhile, members of the group have been granted bail of R5 000 each, says a report on the IoL site. The Durban Regional Court ordered them to report each Friday to their nearest police station. Magistrate Sharon Marks also ordered them not to contact any witnesses. The matter was postponed to 24 August when a High Court date will be set. The court heard that the bail hearing was 'a complete abuse of process', says another report on the IoL site. Advocate Guido Penzhorn described Colonel Frans Khola's admission that some of the 18 had been part of operations where suspects had died as 'startling'. Khola said, earlier under cross-examination, that although some of the officers were not directly involved in the alleged murders, they had been charged with murder. He said this was because they were part of the operation that resulted in the deaths of suspects. 'This is all about common purpose.' It emerged that one of the officers - Johnny Smith - was not even a member of the Cato Manor unit at the time of the 2008 murder for which he is accused. He was part of the police's gambling unit. Khola admitted that there was no ballistic evidence linking Smith to the crime scene, saying Smith had been placed at the crime scene by other members of the Cato Manor unit. First report on the IoL site Second report on the IoL site

A policeman likely to turn state witness in the case was shot and wounded during a shoot-out two years ago -- allegedly by one of his own colleagues, according to a Sunday Times report. This, it says, contradicts claims by police that he was wounded by a gun-toting criminal. A member of the notorious unit, Warrant Officer Rakesh Maharaj, was shot and killed during the incident while another, Detective Rajesh 'R1' Maharaj, was wounded in the hand and hip. The Sunday Times says a member of the National Intervention Unit (NIU), Sivuyile Ngodwana, made a statement about the shooting to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate in which he is believed to have claimed he was shot by a fellow police officer. Full Sunday Times report See also: Shoot to kill in the dock (City Press)