Funny how suspects keep dying

S'Thembiso Msomi: Tsietsi Mdebuka-Radebe should probably slaughter a beast and thank his ancestors that he does not live in KwaZulu-Natal.

His alleged accomplice, whose name is yet to be revealed, would do well not to venture near the coastal province in his current bid to evade the long arm of the law.

Mdebuka-Radebe and his presumed partner in crime - in case you have forgotten - are the guys who had the police hopping mad after they were shown on e.tv threatening to rob tourists during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

In an impressive demonstration of police efficiency, the elite anti-crime unit, the Hawks, nabbed Mdebuka-Radebe in the middle of the night on Thursday at a shack on the West Rand.

When he was finally brought before a Johannesburg magistrate on Monday, Mdebuka-Radebe complained bitterly about being tortured by the police.

"I would like to see a doctor. I cannot hear properly because the police assaulted me . I even lost my shoes," the accused is reported to have told magistrate Theunis Carstens.

Police torture is never ayoba and if it is found that the suspect was assaulted, the cops responsible would have to have the book thrown at them.

However, I do think that the accused should consider himself lucky, judging by what has been happening to other "high-profile" fugitives from the law in KwaZulu-Natal: only last Friday police shot dead three men in Mandeni, north of Durban.

Two of the men were apparently wanted in connection with the shocking Christmas Day Ntuzuma massacre, in which six people were murdered by three men armed with R5 and AK-47 rifles.

Police say they were tipped off about a robbery that was about to take place in Mandeni. When they arrived at the scene, the suspects shot at them.

"Police responded, fatally wounding three suspects," said police spokeswoman Director Phindile Radebe.

Now, I have no qualms about the police responding with lethal force if their lives, or those of innocent citizens, are threatened by armed thugs. But the killing of suspects, especially those linked to highly publicised cases, happens too frequently in KwaZulu-Natal.

Ahead of last year's general election, the country was rocked by the news of the assassination of a pro-ANC traditional leader, Mbongeleni Zondi, in Umlazi township.

Due to his close political ties to ANC president Jacob Zuma, and the province's history of political violence, speculation was rife that the killing was somehow linked to the elections.

Realising the danger this posed to the electoral process in the province, the police were quick to dismiss these claims and assured the public that the assailants would be arrested soon.

But, by the end of last year, three of the men identified as suspects in the Zondi murder case had been gunned down by the police in separate incidents.

One of the men, identified as Sifiso Nzimande, died at a hide-out in Rustenburg, North West, at the hands of KwaZulu-Natal cops. As in the Mandeni case, the police say they shot him after he opened fire on them.

His alleged accomplices, Bongani and Makhosabo Mkhize, were killed in similar circumstances in two unrelated instances.

Bongani Mkhize was shot soon after lodging an application at the Durban High Court "to prevent police from killing him".

Because many of the suspects are dead, too many questions will remain unanswered in connection with these cases. Not least among these is whether the suspects were executed and whether their killing, in some of the cases, was motivated by a desire to cover up a broader conspiracy.

Why is it that in these high-profile cases suspects are seldom shot and wounded?

Our police force, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, has a very long and dark history of violence.

We should not assume that simply because the political dispensation has changed, the police have been cleansed of those who believe in employing dirty tricks in the course of doing their work.

The Independent Complaints Directorate should thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding these killings.

It should tell us why they all seem to be happening in this one particular province.

Read more Columnists