Ipid tells Madlanga commission KZN task teams tied to alleged extra‑judicial killings and criminal links

Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) deputy director for investigations in KwaZulu‑Natal, Len Barnabas John, told the Madlanga commission on 12 August 2026 that specialised police task teams in the province face serious allegations of extra‑judicial killings and links to criminal networks.

Who testified and where

John gave evidence at the Madlanga commission sitting at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria on Wednesday, 12 August 2026. His testimony focused on three specialised task teams operating in KwaZulu‑Natal and on Ipid investigations into shootings involving those units.

Allegations about the task teams

John told the commission that the three teams under scrutiny include a unit responsible for cash‑in‑transit (CIT) robberies, a team dealing with drug syndicates and a unit focused on the taxi industry. He named the officers who head those units as Lieutenant‑Colonel Deena Govender (CIT), Colonel Mbongeni Samuel Khalishwayo (drugs) and Captain Pedro Rodrigues (taxi industry).

He said Ipid had investigated numerous shootings involving the task teams and raised the possibility that some officers may be deliberately killing suspects. John told the commission he believed the three task teams fell under the authority of KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Scope of Ipid investigations

John gave the commission figures for the period between 1 April 2023 and 31 May 2026, saying Ipid had investigated more than 300 cases of extra‑judicial killings involving the three task teams. Of those cases, 77 involved 149 deaths resulting from police action.

John said Ipid was concerned that some people killed in these incidents might not have been legitimate suspects and could have been unlawfully targeted.

Questions over police accounts and crime‑scene integrity

Police accounts often stated that suspects died after exchanging gunfire with officers. John said Ipid investigations sometimes found evidence that did not support those accounts. He gave an example: “You’ll get a case where there are nine people that are shot, and you find only three firearms.”

He also criticised police for failing to provide basic information about suspects allegedly targeted during operations, saying in some instances police could not give the names of the deceased or link shootings to case numbers. John said these gaps suggested police were not conducting proper investigations to arrest suspects.

John raised concerns about delays in notifying Ipid when members of the task teams shot suspects, warning that such delays could allow crime scenes to be manipulated before watchdog investigators arrived. He said Ipid had identified that media personnel were sometimes contacted before Ipid officials, and that the watchdog occasionally learned of shootings via social media.

Alleged links to tow‑truck operators and criminal figures

John told the commission about alleged relationships between police officers and individuals in the tow‑truck industry. He referred to an April 2023 shooting in which alleged drug lord and tow‑truck operator Bevan Loftus and four other people were killed by police, and said there had been allegations that Govender was instructed by alleged drug and tow‑trucking gang leader Clive Naicker to deploy the task team against Loftus.

John said Ipid had identified instances in which police officers were allegedly connected to particular tow‑truck companies. He said some officers gave work to certain tow trucks in order to receive payments or incentives, and that some tow‑truck businesses were allegedly being used to facilitate the movement of drugs. He added that some tow trucks reportedly received a “free pass” at roadblocks because of their police connections.

Investigations remain unresolved

John told the commission that a number of Ipid investigations into police shootings remained unresolved and that no convictions had been secured against officers in the pending matters.

What the commission heard

“It’s a known fact that certain police officers at station level are linked with certain tow truck businesses,” John said, and he also warned: “We can look from the examples that we have that they go out to kill the person.”

John warned that alleged involvement of task teams in organised‑crime investigations created the risk that criminal syndicates could attempt to influence police operations to eliminate rivals, and he said: “There is clear evidence that this risk has materialised in KwaZulu‑Natal.”

The commission heard John’s evidence in full on 12 August 2026.