The investigation into a former Newcastle policeman, accused of involvement in planning the murder of one of the province’s top woman police officers, has taken a macabre twist after it was revealed that he is also being questioned in connection with a human skull that was found hidden in an office he formerly occupied.

Roshanlal Banawo, a former police captain, was arrested and faces charges associated with an assassination plot to kill Major-General Francis Slambert, who is currently the police district commissioner of the uMzinyathi area, which includes the town of Dundee.

Slambert (formerly Bantham) was previously the station commander at Pietermaritzburg’s Mountain Rise Police Station and later became the district commander before taking up her post in Dundee.

After his arrest over the weekend, Banawo made a brief appearance in the Dundee Magistrate’s Court on Monday and the case was remanded.

According to police sources in the uMzinyathi area, Banawo was interviewed last year by detectives to determine whether he had any knowledge about a human skull that was discovered hidden in a bucket in an office he occupied while still a policeman.

Apparently, cleaners stumbled on the skull while cleaning Banawo’s office shortly after he vacated it.

While the skull has been sent to Pretoria for DNA and other related tests, police officers at the station seem to think the remains are that of a victim relating to a high-profile farm murder in June 1996, that was extensively covered by The Witness at the time.

Pieter Henning and Johan Potgieter were convicted three years later in the high court of the murders of farm labourers Ernest Mkhize and Sipho Mabaso in June 1996. Henning was found guilty of driving over the workers and chopping off their heads before burying them.

Banawo was the investigating officer at the time and was widely acclaimed for his role in having Henning and Potgieter convicted and sentenced for the gruesome murders. Now, police are wondering whether Banawo may have kept the skull of one of the murdered men as a ‘trophy’ of the high-profile investigation and conviction.

Thulani Mazibuko, an ANC activist in the Dundee area, says black people in the area had ‘a lot of respect’ for Banawo.

“His success in those murder cases exposed the level of racism within the local farming community at the time. When we heard that Henning was arrested for the murder of Mkhize and Mabaso, we were extremely concerned that he would be released given his status in society at the time.

“At the time, farm labourers and black community members, in general, were living in fear as they found themselves under constant attack by farm owners.

“But because Banawo had done a great job in his investigation, the farmer was sent to jail, and as the community here, we were very happy about that.”

“However, we are disappointed about these allegations that Banawo decided to keep the skull of one of the two murder victims in his office. We are hoping that one day the police will explain to us how that happened.”

KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that a case has been opened in connection with the human skull that was found in Banawo’s old office.

“That matter is still under police investigation,” he says.

Banawo is scheduled to return to the Dundee Magistrate’s Court on Monday for a bail application in relation to the charges he is facing.

KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda says the plot to kill Slambert was linked to her efforts to address crime in her jurisdiction.

He says Slambert survived at least two assassination attempts on her life between May and August 2023.