Police's use of 'lethal force' under scrutiny

Some of the 28 Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit members who faced 116 criminal charges, and the sweeping trial against them was ultimately withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in July 2019.

The shooting of KwaZulu-Natal businessman Thabiso Ngcobo has put the use of lethal force by police under renewed scrutiny, following the release of a presidential inquiry report that found evidence supporting the prosecution of members of the controversial Durban's Cato Manor organised crime unit.

The report, released by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday, cleared prosecutions boss Andrew Chauke of allegations that he had acted improperly in pursuing charges against members of the unit. But it also found that there was evidence supporting the racketeering and murder charges brought against them.

Ngcobo is currently at the centre of a criminal case involving 10 South African Police Service officers, including celebrated officer Captain Pedro Rodriguez, who face attempted murder charges over the May 2024 shooting of the businessman on the M13 eastbound.

Ngcobo was approached by officers in unmarked vehicles flashing blue lights and shortly after his armoured Toyota Fortuner came under fire from high-calibre rifles.

He called KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who advised him to drive to Pavilion Shopping Centre in Westville. Ngcobo got out of his vehicle and entered the mall, followed by armed men wearing balaclavas.

He has consistently maintained that the shooting was not a case of mistaken identity, but a targeted attack.

The case has been postponed several times, frustrating Ngcobo. On Friday, the Durban High Court postponed it to October 5 for a pre-trial hearing.

But the Ngcobo case comes against the backdrop of one of the darkest chapters in KwaZulu-Natal policing — the Cato Manor unit and the deaths allegedly linked to it.

Sixteen years ago, 16-year-old Kwazi Ndlovu was asleep on a couch in his family’s lounge in eSikhaleni (formerly eSikhawini) near eMpangeni, when police kicked down the door of the house at about 3am on April 1, 2010.

Four shots were fired from an R5 rifle. Three struck Kwazi, killing him.

His mother, Lindiwe, did not initially know her son had been shot. Police ordered her to remain in the bedroom with her husband and newborn while they searched the house.

When she was eventually allowed into the passage, one of the officers blocked her view of the lounge.

She could see Kwazi lying motionless on the couch and believed he was asleep.