Mother’s quest for accountability after police captain failed to remove firearm from daughter’s killer

FOR almost three years a Durban mother has been on a quest to ensure that a police captain was held accountable after she failed to remove a firearm from the man who killed her daughter. 

Sasha Lee Monique Shah, 25, of uMhlanga, was gunned down by her ex-boyfriend, Kyle Inderlall, 25, of Phoenix, in the parking lot at the Gateway Shopping Mall on October 30, 2022, just over a month after she was granted an interim protection order against him.

On November 3, he was expected to appear in court for the order to be defended before its finalisation.

However, Inderlall shot her several times while she was seated in her vehicle then turned the gun on himself.

During a State inquest, which commenced in December 2023, several witnesses who took the stand, gave detailed accounts of the events surrounding the shooting. A ballistic report, which was presented to the court, confirmed that the firearm belonged to Inderlall.

Jessica Shah, Sasha Lee’s mother, who also testified, questioned how Inderlall had been in possession of the firearm, which was meant to be removed by the police officer who had served him with an interim protection order from another woman in 2021, and her daughter in 2022.

Speaking to the POST this week, Shah said was left devastated and felt that justice was not just denied, but ignored, after the police officer was handed an unpaid suspension for two months following a disciplinary hearing in 2023. 

The police captain was found to have violated two of the South African Police Service (SAPS) regations: misconduct affecting the SAPS image and violation of Firearms Control Act.

“I asked to testify at the internal disciplinary hearing. I submitted evidence showing that the perpetrator had two previous criminal cases opened against him at the same police station, as well as a prior interim protection order, submitted to the Domestic Violence Unit that the police captain leads. I questioned whether that crucial evidence was even considered during the hearing.

“How could a police officer, responsible for enforcing the very laws meant to protect victims of abuse, walk away with such a light consequence? When I read the news, I often see people receiving harsher punishments for far lesser offences. It left me feeling that my daughter’s life, and the circumstances of her death, were treated as less important and  less worthy of justice,” she said. 

Shah said failing to remove Inderlall’s firearm was not a minor oversight. 

“It was a complete failure of duty, with fatal consequences. I believe the sentence handed to the police captain was not only light but careless and unjust. It was also an insult to my daughter’s memory, and to every woman who has trusted the system to protect her from abuse. We have laws in place for a reason. Do they not apply when the one who fails is wearing a badge?

“I also questioned why the SAPS never laid criminal charges against the officer. Charges should have been considered such as dereliction of duty, culpable homicide, contempt of court and failure to enforce the Domestic Violence Act and the Firearms Control Act

“This was a gender-based violence case. It should have been treated with the utmost seriousness, especially during sentencing. Anything less sets a dangerous precedent, that the lives of women and children can be overlooked, even by those sworn to protect them,” she said. 

In April this year, Shah opened a case of contempt of court against the police captain for allegedly failing to execute legal duty and perjury.

“I have been informed that the matter is still being investigated. No matter how long it takes, I will not rest until justice is done, not just for Sasha, but for every woman who is still fighting to be heard, to be safe, and to be protected. Sasha’s life mattered. Her voice was silenced, but mine will not be,” she said. 

THE POST