Villain or hero? Clarity is needed on why a South African police general is being prosecuted
A top-ranking officer in South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Major-General Johan Booysen, was arrested on 22 August 2012 on a number of charges, including murder and racketeering. What makes this case particularly shocking is that Booysen was hailed as a hero in 2011 for refusing to accept a R1,3 million bribe from businessman Thoshan Panday. Panday and South African Police Service (SAPS) Colonel Navin Madhoe were being investigated for alleged fraud involving R60 million in a police accommodation tender scam.
Events had been set in motion earlier in June 2012 when 18 members of the now disbanded Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit of the DPCI (or ‘the Hawks', as it is more commonly known) were arrested on charges including murder, attempted murder, theft, illegal possession of firearms and defeating the ends of justice. This was one of a number of units that ultimately reported to Booysen, the provincial head of the DPCI in KwaZulu-Natal.
This case is often used as an example of how the SAPS has become riddled with rogue elements - a recent audit has identified 1 448 serving police officials who have criminal convictions, a majority of which are for serious crimes. However, it seems to be a particularly complex case. Interestingly, the media has taken opposing views on the matter.
On the one side are those who depict Booysen as the head of a police ‘hit squad', as alleged in a Sunday Times exposé of 11 December 2011, titled ‘Shoot to kill: inside a South African police death squad'. According to this report, the Cato Manor unit in Durban is allegedly responsible for 28 murders, ‘some in retaliation for suspected cop killings and others related to ongoing taxi wars'. The report included photographs of those allegedly executed by the police unit, and statements from witnesses. As a result of this exposé, the unit was shut down and its members arrested, along with Booysen.
On the other side are publications such as the Sunday Tribune and Noseweek, which suggest that the charges against Booysen are primarily aimed at removing him from the Hawks to prevent him from investigating senior police officials and politically connected businessmen allegedly involved in high-level corruption. The Sunday Tribune published transcripts of secretly recorded discussions that it alleges reveal a plot to remove Booysen from the Hawks and close down the Cato Manor unit, prior to the Sunday Timesexposé. The alleged plotter is Colonel Rajen Aiyer, who was the direct commander of the Cato Manor unit for most of the period during which the alleged atrocities were committed.