Collins Khosa: Finding by SANDF Ombud a first step towards accountability
20 August 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the finding of the Military Ombud, Lt Gen (Ret) VusumuziMasondo, that soldiers of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) acted improperly, irregularly and in contravention of their code of conduct on the night of 10 April 2020 when Collins Khosa was brutally attacked outside his house in Alexandra and died as a result.
We hope that this finding will bring a small measure of comfort to his family and friends.
When the soldiers were shockingly exonerated by the Minister of Defence, NosiviweMapisa-Nqakula, and SANDF leadership in May, the DA called for an investigation into the matter by the Military Ombud.
SANDF’s so-called investigation has been shambolic from the start, with the Minister flip-flopping about the status of the investigation’s report leading to confusion and a retraction on her part. The soldiers in question were not even disciplined before the court ordered them, and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers implicated, to be suspended.