SAPS Organised Crime Unit Members Implicated in Murder Almost Finalised

Strategic Insights -

The investigation into an elite police unit involved in the alleged murder of a 24-year-old man who died in police custody is nearing completion. According to the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), 15 members of the SAPS Organised Crime Unit have been positively identified as suspects in connection with the murder of Sidwell Mkwambi, who died in February after being arrested in connection with an incident where two police officers were shot and wounded.

Key Takeaways:

  • 15 members of the SAPS Organised Crime Unit have been positively identified as suspects in the alleged murder of Sidwell Mkwambi.
  • The investigation is almost finalised, with one more identity parade needed to be conducted before the ICD submits the investigative docket to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).
  • The ICD has recommended that the implicated members be suspended, but the police have not yet taken any action.
  • The ICD is also probing 13 other unrelated case dockets implicating other members of the unit in alleged assaults of suspects while in custody since 2006.
  • Sidwell Mkwambi was found in the back of a police vehicle nearly two months after his arrest, with a post mortem revealing that he died as a result of "multiple blunt trauma".
  • The ICD spokesperson, Dikeledi Phiri, stated that arrests will only be effected once the DPP agrees to prosecute.
  • The unit is being investigated in connection with alleged murder, assault, and other related crimes committed while in custody.

Statistics:

  • 15 members of the SAPS Organised Crime Unit have been implicated in the alleged murder of Sidwell Mkwambi.
  • 13 other unrelated case dockets are being probed by the ICD, implicating other members of the unit in alleged assaults of suspects while in custody since 2006.

Sources:

  • "15 SAPS detectives implicated in murder caught" by The Times (undated)
  • "SAPS detectives accused of murder" by Eyewitness News (undated)
  • "Police under fire over Mkwambi case" by IOL News (undated)