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The Newcastle Regional Court on Wednesday found Roshlanal Banawo guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
Picture: 3d illustration
Former police detective Captain Roshanel Banawo has been found guilty of plotting the murder of Umzinyathi District Commissioner Major General Francis Slambert.
Banawo appeared in the Newcastle Regional Court on Wednesday, which found that he had conspired to kill Slambert.
The former police captain was sentenced to 10 years in jail. His defence asked for a wholly suspended sentence.
When asked about his reaction to the sentence, Banawo dismissively responded: “It’s a joke.”
He was responding to questions from the media inside the court.
Banawo denied plotting to kill Slambert.
The 63-year-old former detective was arrested on 26 November 2023, when Slambert’s assassination plans were revealed by the KZN task team.
Banawo was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit murder but acquitted on a second charge of incitement to murder.
The former police captain was kept in custody since his arrest in November 2023, having been denied bail on three separate occasions.
The case began formal proceedings on 10 September 2024, after being transferred to the provincial organised crime unit for thorough investigation following his initial arrest.
KwaZulu-Natal NPA Regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said advocate Adriaan Truter, representing the state, led the evidence of the hitman and the middleman who testified about the conspiracy.
Ramkisson-Kara said Banawo reached out to a middleman and requested him to secure a hitman to kill Slambert.
The two witnesses were approached by Banawo between May to August 2023.
“However, their plans did not materialise in these instances,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
Investigations by the provincial task team led to the middleman and the hitman.
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Despite the conviction, authorities have not yet established why Banawo plotted to kill the District Commissioner.
According to The Witness, Magistrate Theunis Colditz, delivering the judgment, stated: “For some reason which is not clear, the accused seems to have some sort of obsession with the complainant.
“I don’t understand why he had a grudge against her—she was not involved in his dismissal.”
Banawo was dismissed from the South African Police Service (Saps) in 2021, having served for 39 years, after illicit substances were found in his home.
According to police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, Banawo was running a criminal cartel, and tried to “capture” Slambert.
“As a commander dedicated to her work, Slambert refused to be captured and Banawo ordered two hitmen to kill her,” said Netshiunda.
He was subsequently arrested in November 2023 following intelligence that revealed alleged attempts to assassinate Slambert.
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The court reportedly heard details of a “chilling case” involving at least two alleged attempts on Slambert’s life.
Between May and August 2023, Slambert survived two assassination attempts while serving as district commissioner in Dundee.
She had previously worked as a station commander at Peter Maritzburg’s Mountain Rise Police Station.
Netshiunda said Banawo attempted the total three assassinations on Slambert’s life due to “both personal and reasons related to the Slambert’s work.”
Witnesses reportedly testified that Banawo had offered R50,000 to hired hitmen to carry out the assassination.
The court acknowledged there were inconsistencies in the testimonies of the hitmen.
“Although the testimonies of the two hired hitmen were inconsistent and must be treated with caution—as they were accomplice witnesses—there was sufficient evidence to support the charge of conspiracy to commit murder,” Colditz explained.
The court rejected Banawo’s claim that he had been set up and that witnesses were used to entrap him.
“Cellphone records obtained by the task team confirmed communication between the middleman and Banawo,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
“Cellphone data analysis and documentary evidence such as protection orders between the parties also formed part of the state’s case.”
Netshiunda confirmed that the court also declared Banawo unfit to possess a firearm.
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