By Johnathan Paoli
The Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) or Hawk’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial tracing team head Lieutenant-Colonel Deenadayalan Govender has rejected allegation of being ‘killers for gangsters’, insisting that the claims were based on unverified information and that he was being used as a pawn in an attempt to discredit KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday, Govender rejected allegations made by IPID deputy director Len John linking him and police task teams under his command to targeted killings and the alleged R2.5 million hit on tow-truck operator and alleged gangster Bevan Loftus.
He said John’s testimony had been particularly painful because it had been broadcast publicly before he had been given an opportunity to respond.
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“Commissioner, it was so hurtful for me. The whole world is watching what Mr Len John did, said with no proof. He accused me of taking money for a hit and putting it in my bank account, which was never verified,” Govender said.
John had previously told the commission last week that nearly R500,000 in cash was paid to conveyancing attorneys in connection with the purchase of a R2.3 million property by Govender and his wife.
John suggested the transactions could be connected to a R2.5 million contract allegedly placed on Loftus.
Govender denied the implication, saying John had not produced a transaction proving that money paid into his accounts was payment for a hit.
“He could never, ever come up with a single transaction, but with unverified information,” Govender said.
He said the allegations had affected not only him but his family.
“I’m very polite with him, but it hurts me, because I’ve got a wife and I’ve got kids. I didn’t steal the money from anywhere, Commissioner. And I will account before the Commissioner to say where I got the funds from,” he said.
Govender said he was embarrassed by the allegations because his children attended school and people could now ridicule the family.
He also accused John of acting prematurely, saying he regularly dealt with the IPID official on other matters but had not been approached about the financial allegations before they were aired at the commission.
The Hawks officer went further, alleging that he was being deliberately positioned to damage Mkhwanazi.
“At the outset I wish to record that I feel that I am being unfairly targeted by Mr Len John of IPID and for ulterior purposes. It is my respectful view and submission that I am being used as a pawn to discredit Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi,” his affidavit stated.
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Govender said he had received a series of calls and approaches in August in which he was allegedly encouraged to implicate Mkhwanazi in police shootings.
He told commissioners that alleged political fixer Mavuso Nthandane had approached him on 13 August and told him to protect himself by telling the commission that he acted on Mkhwanazi’s instructions.
Govender said Nthandane was close to suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and provided recordings of conversations with him.
In one recording, Nthandane allegedly warned him that he could not “suffer alone” and that he should put senior figures “under the bus”.
The commission also heard Govender’s account of the April 2023 operation in which Loftus and four other men were killed at a Morningside flat in Durban.
Govender denied being in charge of the operation or that members of his Anti-Gang Team carried out the shooting.
He said information about the operation originated with other police units and that neither he nor his team accompanied the initial operation.
According to his account, police had been tracking a white Isuzu suspected of being used in the triple murder of alleged drug dealer Puff Kalicharan, his wife and child.
The vehicle was eventually stopped and its driver was allegedly found with drugs and an AR-15 rifle stolen during a robbery in the Eastern Cape.
The suspect allegedly led police to another firearm at a Hillcrest flat and subsequently provided information about firearms and a group allegedly controlled by Loftus.
This information ultimately led police to the Morningside flat where Loftus and others were found.
Govender said he arrived at the Hillcrest premises only after the initial arrest, accompanied by Warrant Officer Thanasagren Naidoo.
When the police eventually entered the Morningside flat, Govender said he and Naidoo were not in the immediate vicinity.
He said tactical police told him that officers attempting to enter the flat had been fired upon and returned fire, killing Loftus and the other occupants.
The other deceased were identified as Chase Fynn, Michigan Hippolyte, Ryan Santos and Sihle Zondi, whom police suspected of being members of Loftus’s gang.
Govender also rejected the suggestion that his colleague Captain Pedro Rodriguez was trigger-happy.
He said he did not want to speculate about ballistic evidence showing Rodriguez had fired most of the shots and would need to consult the shooting report.
Govender also challenged the transcript of a telephone conversation involving Loftus and tow-truck competitor Clive Naicker, saying the recording referred to “Puff” as Kalicharan.
His affidavit says an independent transcription captured the words “You and Puff”, which he argued were omitted from the version previously presented to the commission.
Govender’s testimony is set to continue when he returns to the commission on 31 August, when he is expected to provide further documents and explanations concerning the allegations against him.
The commission will make a ruling on his application to complete his testimony behind closed doors next week.
