Former detective accused of plotting to kill police major general to hear verdict in Newcastle court
A former KZN detective has been in custody since November 2023, after being denied bail three times in a case involving an alleged plot to murder a police general.
Former SAPS detective, Captain Roshanlal Banawo, who stands accused of plotting to murder former Mountain Rise police station commander Major-General Francis Slambert, is set to appear in the Newcastle Regional Court in KZN today.
The Witness reports that the trial concluded last month, with judgment expected to be delivered during this court appearance.
The provincial commissioner of KZN, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, is expected to attend the proceedings to hear the verdict.
Banawo was dismissed from the police service in 2021 following an internal investigation into drug-related activities, after illicit substances were discovered in his apartment.
In the current matter, he faces a charge of conspiracy to commit murder, with the intended target being the now Umzinyathi district commissioner, Slambert.
He was arrested in November 2023 by the KZN Provincial Task Team after intelligence revealed at least three alleged attempts to assassinate the district commissioner.
Slambert (formerly Bantham) previously served as the station commander at Pietermaritzburg’s Mountain Rise police station, later becoming the district commander, before assuming her current role in Dundee.
According to KZN police, Slambert survived at least two assassination attempts between May and August 2023.
Following Banawo’s arrest, the case was handed over to the provincial Organised Crime Unit based in Vryheid for further investigation.
He has remained in custody since his arrest, with three separate bail applications — including one at the Pietermaritzburg High Court — all denied.
The trial began in September last year at the Newcastle Regional Court, where three witnesses testified.
“The witnesses detailed the planning and execution of the three failed attempts on the general’s life and implicated the accused as the individual who orchestrated the plot,” said KZN police in a statement.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the SAPS respects the independence of the judiciary and awaits the court’s decision in the matter.
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