Govender tells Madlanga Commission he was urged to implicate General Nkhwanazi, points to Senzo Mchunu

Deena Govender, a colonel with the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks, has told the Madlanga Commission that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was behind an effort to have him falsely implicate KZN provincial commissioner Nhlanhla Nkhwanazi in a series of shootings.

Alleged instruction delivered through associate

In open testimony, Govender said Mchunu, speaking through his associate Mavuso Ntandani, instructed him to claim that Nkhwanazi had ordered the shootings. Govender said the alleged meeting took place on August 20 and that Ntandani and another person were present.

Phone call and recorded encounter

Govender told the commission that Mchunu was called during the meeting and warned him not to let anyone “ruin the country.” He said he had recorded the encounter and that the commission would hear the recording.

“I know the minister’s voice, I know it was him,” Govender told the commission.

Scope and denials

The testimony links Mchunu to an alleged push to implicate Nkhwanazi in 172 shootings. The report says Mchunu has denied the allegations. The Madlanga Commission proceedings are continuing.

Related allegations

The source material notes Govender has been implicated in alleged extra-judicial killings following the deaths of tow-truck operator Bevan Loftus and four other men during a police operation.

The commission continues to hear testimony and evidence in open hearings.