Rogue unit 'executed' 51

AN alleged police hit squad exposed by the Sunday Times is being investigated for at least 51 suspicious murders - including one in its offices and another in its toilets.

The body count is higher than initially thought - and 18 KwaZulu-Natal police officers are now suspects. They include two from the National Intervention Unit and 16 from the notorious Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit.

The unit fell under the ultimate command of provincial Hawks boss Major-General Johan Booysen.

This week he was served with a letter of "intention to suspend" him. Booysen was given until Friday to provide reasons why he should not be suspended.

And, as Booysen was served with the letter, the Cato Manor unit was officially disbanded - closing a chapter in which it is suspected of killing scores of suspects in questionable circumstances that witnesses say were nothing less than assassinations.

The Sunday Times initially investigated seven cases involving the Cato Manor unit and 16 suspicious deaths.

The exposé uncovered photographs of the unit members celebrating next to victims and their grieving relatives.

Relatives of people killed in six cases came forward with more startling details. Based on interviews with several sources close to the investigation, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, the Sunday Times has established that:

One Cato Manor officer was identified as the man who pulled the trigger in more than 30 of the 51 suspicious killings being investigated;

Another is on sick leave and has been living in Gauteng for two years with an R5 assault rifle at his home, which violates police policy;

Three suspects were killed at the Cato Manor unit's offices in Durban: one in the toilet, one in an office and the third in a car; and

Investigators consider that 15 cases are strong enough to present to prosecutors, with sufficient evidence for an arrest within a month. This is after forensic evidence has been processed by independent ballistic experts and pathologists.

Contacted for comment, Booysen said he was "not talking to the media" .

His lawyer, Carl van der Merwe, who also represents other Cato Manor officers, said he would be fighting the suspension .

"We are still in correspondence," he said.

Van der Merwe confirmed that some of his clients had already "been questioned as suspects".

Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela would not say whether Booysen had responded to the notice of suspension.

"This is an internal matter. We need to afford General Booysen the respect he deserves to participate in an internal process," he said.

The Sunday Times exposé sparked investigations by the Independent Complaints Directorate and the Hawks, with the former reviewing all killings by unit members dating back to 2009. They isolated 51 cases of suspicious deaths.

Two senior ICD officials in KwaZulu-Natal were suspended this week because of their poor handling of the Cato Manor case .

Witnesses, meanwhile, have come forward to provide first-hand accounts incriminating the Cato Manor members in at least seven cases.

Several witnesses provided the Sunday Times with first-hand accounts last year of the 'executions'. This week another witness provided the Sunday Times with a detailed account of one of the killings and identified from photographs the officer who, he said, had executed the suspect .

It is understood that Hawks investigators have so far interviewed at least three senior police officials with direct knowledge of the unit's actions, and conducted ballistics tests on all members' firearms. They are awaiting the results of these tests.

The task team is expected to submit its findings to Hawks boss Anwa Dramat within a month.

While Booysen was given a notice of intention to suspend him, it is understood that none of the members of the Cato Manor unit allegedly involved in the hits have yet been suspended.

Asked about this, Polela said it would be premature to act on allegations. "Please wait for the investigation to finish instead of prejudging it," he said.

The ICD declined to comment.

Spokesman Moses Dlamini said investigations into some of the cases would be completed by mid-March.