Thin blue line leaves few survivors as Ipid probes 149 deaths

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has already established himself as some sort of superhero when it comes to fighting crime.

He has everyone in his – and his task forces’ – sights, including politicians and bent cops. And he exudes a “take no prisoners” aura.

Worryingly, though, it is now becoming plain that there are very few prisoners – or maybe we should say survivors – once the KZN “thin blue line” starts to surround the bad guys.

The scale of police shootings investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) should raise an eyebrow. Between 1 April, 2023, and 31 May this year, Ipid investigated more than 300 cases of extrajudicial killings involving three KZN task teams.

Of these, 77 cases involved 149 deaths resulting from police action.

Len Barnabas John, Ipid’s deputy director for investigations in KZN, told the Madlanga commission yesterday Ipid was concerned that some of those killed may not have been legitimate suspects and could have been unlawfully targeted.

Police accounts commonly stated that suspects had been killed after exchanging gunfire with officers. However, Ipid’s investigations sometimes uncovered evidence that did not support those versions.

“You’ll get a case where there are nine people that are shot, and you find only three firearms,” John said.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that criminal gangs have become more emboldened in the past few years, perhaps encouraged by the common South African problem, that there are seldom consequences.

And they don’t warn the cops, either, before they open fire.

There will be many who think Mkhwanazi’s approach to tackling crime is justified – and one can understand that. We’ve all had enough of these thugs.

But we need to exercise care that our precious culture of human rights doesn’t become collateral damage.