HAWKS OFFICER LINKED TO R2.7m CASH TRAIL AMID KZN POLICE HIT SQUAD INQUIRY
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has heard explosive evidence linking a senior Hawks officer to a R2.7 million financial trail, fueling allegations of a police hit squad operating in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) Deputy Director Len John testified that Lieutenant Colonel Deena Govender allegedly purchased a R2.35 million property in Isipingo using cash, despite earning a monthly take-home salary of less than R26,000.
According to financial records presented by John, a total of R2,034,350 in suspicious cash deposits was paid into the bank accounts of Govender and his wife who is also a member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) between August 2022 and December 2023.
Additional payments toward the Isipingo property brought the total identified transactions to R2,731,912.Govender has previously been implicated before the Commission in relation to alleged extra-judicial killings in the province.
This financial evidence is considered critical because of Govender’s links to a specialized police task team involved in a deadly April 2023 operation in Durban.
The shooting, which took place inside a flat, left five men dead: Bevan Loftus, Ryan Santos, Chase Fynn, Michigan Hippolyte, and Sihle Zondi.
While the police initially claimed that the officers acted in self-defence after the men opened fire, IPID has raised serious discrepancies regarding the official version of events.
During his testimony, John also referenced an unproven allegation that a Durban figure, Clive Naicker, had previously promised Govender R2.5 million to assassinate Loftus.
The financial disclosures have raised urgent questions about the origin of the funds and whether they are directly connected to the task team’s operations.
John previously told the Commission that IPID is currently investigating 77 cases of police shootings in KZN which have resulted in 149 fatalities.
The Madlanga Commission must now evaluate the financial evidence to determine its connection to the April 2023 operation and verify whether the physical evidence supports the police’s account