Top Durban metro cop gunned down at his home

A leading and controversial figure within the ranks of the Durban Metro Police, logistics manager Innocent Chamane, was gunned down at his home late on Tuesday night.

Details of his murder remain unclear. However, three senior sources within the city police have confirmed Chamane’s death.

Metro police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Msomi could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.

Chamane was reportedly linked to several scandals that beset the beleaguered Metro Police – which ultimately contributed to city officials pledging to launch a commission of inquiry into the entire organisation.

In June, News24 reported that the situation at the Metro Police K9 Unit had reached the point of crisis with shortages of dog food, dog shampoo and a large proportion of the K9 force not being inoculated because of outstanding vet bills.

So dire was the situation that police officers had taken to buying essential items for their dogs out of pure frustration.

Chamane caused further consternation by turning away donations of dog food after the story was published.

Prior to that, the unit was mired in controversy when he ordered that police dogs that were old or sick should be put down instead of being allowed to see out their days with their handlers.

In 2014, the Sunday Tribune reported that a rift between Metro Police officers and their management led to the deliberate spoiling of over 60% of all hand-written fines, and the resultant loss of R30 million for the city.

So wide was the chasm between the police officers on the ground and their management structures, a group of senior officers wrote in desperation to the city manager. 

Two years ago, Mayor James Nxumalo pledged to address “deep-seated issues” affecting the force.

Despite promising that a commission of inquiry would be established to probe the core issues affecting the fractious city police, two years had gone by without any tangible outcome or recommendations.

On June 4 2013, Nxumalo called for a “wide-ranging investigation or commission of inquiry” to deal with “deep-seated problems” in the city’s metro police, as was reported by The Mercury.

“What forms part of that process is yet to be decided, but it has to be carried out to investigate all the issues within the police,” he said at the time.

Source: News24