Cops who staged ID parade still at work

2013-02-25 16:25

(Nielen de Klerk, News24)

Mandla Khoza

Mbombela - Two Mpumalanga police officers accused of staging an identification parade after another officer's gun was used to murder Mpumalanga culture, sports, arts and recreation spokesperson Sammy Mpatlanyane, are still at work.

Last year, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ordered an investigation into the two officers as well as the officer whose gun was reportedly stolen and used to kill Mpatlanyane.

“The officers are still working, they have not been suspended or anything. We are still waiting for the NPA to finalise their logistics and, as the directive comes, we are going to take necessary steps,” said police spokesperson Leonard Hlathi.

The investigations are also probing allegations that the crime scene was tampered with before forensic experts arrived.

The staged identification parade led to the arrest of three foreign nationals - Mozambican Nito Mashava, Tanzanian Omary Issa and Congolese Tupac “Abu” Ntumba.

The case was provisionally withdrawn in July last year because Mashava, who pointed out his two co-accused is mentally ill and was declared unfit to stand trial.

He is expected to be declared a state president's patient.

NPA spokesperson Medupi Simasiku told African Eye News Service that the docket has been sent to a prosecutor for a directive on how to handle the case against the two police officers accused of staging the identification parade.

"The investigation against the two officers is ongoing the docket has been forwarded to the prosecutor for decision so an appropriate decision will be taken soon thereafter,” said Simasiku.

Mpatlanyane was gunned down on 10 January 2010 at his home in Mbombela.

At the time, Mpatlanyane’s murder was linked to alleged cover-ups of tender fraud in Mpumalanga’s 2010 Mbombela stadium.

He was one of the three notorious January Murders, which the NPA believes were politically motivated and in need of special attention.

The other two January Murder victims include Mbombela Local Municipality Speaker Jimmy Mohlala and ANC chief whip in the Ehlanzeni district municipality, Johan Ndlovu.

All three victims were murdered in January starting with Mohlala in 2009, then Mpatlanyane in 2010 and Ndlovu in 2011.

Four people accused of murdering Mohlala were acquitted in January last year because of insufficient evidence.

Three people have been convicted for Ndlovu's murder.