PRETORIA - “They go out to kill.”
That was the testimony of Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) official Len Barnabas John, who told the Madlanga Commission that rogue SAPS task teams operating in KwaZulu-Natal are using lethal force to eliminate suspects.
John is testifying before the commission on Wednesday as its focus shifts to allegations of SAPS “hit squads” operating in the province.
Some members of the KwaZulu-Natal SAPS are accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings under the guise of task-team operations.
It is alleged that officers targeted cash-in-transit robbery suspects, taxi operators and members of drug syndicates.
LIVESTREAM | Madlanga to focus on KZN police 'hit squads'
According to John, between 1 April 2023 and 31 May 2026, IPID investigated more than 300 cases, 77 of which involved the deaths of 149 people during police operations by task teams.
“In these 77 cases, the shootings were committed by members of the task teams,” John said, adding that the 77 deceased had no cases linking them to crimes.
Detailing IPID’s investigations, John said that in the majority of cases in which police killed suspects, fewer firearms were recovered than the number of people killed.
John said: “Their explanation all the time is that the deceased shot first at them before they could shoot, but we have identified cases which contradict the version of the police.”
He said the operations were frequently planned to take place between 11pm and 3am, when there would be fewer witnesses to observe possible wrongdoing by SAPS members.
“In the majority of our cases, there are fewer firearms found compared to the number of deceased who were at the scene. If three firearms are found and there were nine suspects, it means that six of them were unarmed.”
John said there are currently cases before the Director of Public Prosecutions in which IPID can use crime-scene reconstruction to demonstrate that the deceased did not shoot at police first.
“We have identified a few cases which contradict the version of the police. In the majority of shootings by task teams, they don’t have proper cases. In some cases, they cannot even give you the names of the deceased. They are not doing a proper investigation to arrest the suspects. They go out to kill.”