By Nkhensani Chauke
The Western Cape is riddled with gangsterism, with the police in the province often accused of colluding with gangsters.
A report from the Independent Police Investigating Directorate (Ipid), which was declassified on Wednesday, reveals that nine police officers, including the former head of the province’s anti-gang unit, have been implicated the murder of the unit’s detective Charl Kinnear.
IPID announced its decision to declassify an investigation report into the conduct of the police officers following the Kinnear murder.
Of the nine officers implicated, seven were from the SA Police Service and two were from the Hawks.
They were brigadiers at both provincial and national crime intelligence, and three captains – one in crime intelligence, one in the provincial commissioner’s office and one in the anti-gang unit.
The investigative report was previously classified to protect sensitive information of witnesses, including implicated officers who were yet to be charged at the time.
IPID executive director Dikeledi Ntlatseng told reporters in Cape Town that the decision to classify the report in 2022 was enforced by Section 33(2) of the IPID Act, which stated that information conducted by the directorate could not be disclosed to any parties except those implicated or mentioned in the report.
“We had to protect sensitive information of witnesses and implicated officers at the time, because they had not been charged,” Ntlatseng said.
“Currently the information of witnesses is now in the public domain. Therefore, such information is no longer comprised.”
Kinnear was killed outside his Bishop Lavis house in Cape Town on 18 September 2020.
The matter is currently on trial in the Western Cape High Court.
She said the SAPS had informed IPID that it has initiated the process of instituting disciplinary sanctions against the officers, as recommended by the directorate.
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