Mother alleges police corruption after daughter's death

A CHATSWORTH mother has raised the alarm on alleged corruption at the Chatsworth police station after her daughter was killed by a "drunk driver" on Higginson Highway, on August 18.

Dr Sharona Deonarain, of Arena Park, said it had been 10 weeks since her daughter, Khitana (Tana), lost her life and despite ‘clear evidence’ no arrests had been made.

She has called on the provincial South African Police Service (SAPS) and Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to investigate. 

Deonarain said on the evening before the tragedy, her daughter had been at the home of her partner and best friend, Cameron Naidoo.

“It was a Sunday, and Cameron had visited us during the day. Later that afternoon, they went to his home and were watching movies with his family. Tana also had some assignments to complete. Later that evening, she messaged me to say she was sorry she had missed her curfew, as she had fallen asleep. She said she was going to come home.

“It was not even half-an-hour later, when Cameron called me and said, ‘Aunty Sharona we have been involved in an accident’. When I asked him if they were okay, he said 'yes'. I immediately woke my husband up and said we had to go as Tana was in an accident.

“I called Cameron to tell him we are on the way, and asked again if they were okay. He assured me they were okay, and I could hear Tana in the background. 

“From our home to the accident scene, which was near the Moorton and Arena Park off-ramp, was about 2.5km. We arrived there in about five minutes. But what we saw was not what we ever expected. There was absolute carnage,” she said.

Deonarain said she jumped out of the car and began walking towards the accident scene. 

“I was looking for their car, a blue Suzuki, when Cameron approached me. I asked him, ‘Where is Tana?’, and he gestured to my left. When I looked, I saw my child lying on the roadside.

“I knelt down to her and started calling out her name. I told her ‘mummy is here’. I touched her left leg and arm, and then put my head on her chest. I was in shock and disbelief as I had just been told that my child was perfectly fine and she had no injuries. I just felt my heart shatter,” she said. 

Deonarain said at the time there were only members from SAPS at the scene as they were on patrol in that vicinity. 

“I just sat with her. My husband also came to her and he felt for a pulse, but realised she didn’t have one. I called a member from our  area CPF as they worked efficiently and asked for help in getting an ambulance to the scene. Soon after the metro police arrived and closed off the road. The officer asked us to move away when the paramedics arrived as it was an active crime scene. 

“My husband had parked in such a way where I could still see Tana, so I sat on the road next to the car and watched everything happen in front of me. After a while, I just put my head down and started walking down the road. A few metres away, I saw a group of people had gathered and a man was speaking. 

“From the discussion I realised he was the driver of the vehicle initially involved in the accident. I got into the conversation and that is when he said there was a young lady who jumped out of the car and walked to the back of it.

“He said she was praying and even showed how she held her hands out. At that moment, I knew it was a true account because my daughter was a praise and worship warrior. If anything happened, her first callout was to the Lord. 

“He then said a bakkie was coming down the road at such an excessive speed that it banged into his car first and then into the Suzuki. He said my child was hit with such an impact that she was flung across the road. My child had an instant death,” she said. 

Deonarain said she then began searching for the bakkie and the driver. 

“I started walking further down the road. I must have walked about 40 metres, when I saw the bakkie on the rollback of a tow truck. I asked people if they knew where the driver of the bakkie was, and someone pointed to a man with a white shirt standing with two police officers, who were dressed in uniform. They were from Chatsworth SAPS. 

“I approached him and asked if he was the owner and driver of the bakkie, he said ‘yes’. I said this bakkie knocked my child, so it means you killed my child. He said no. I said it again, but before he could speak, one of the officers said, ‘you cannot tell him that, you have no witnesses’. He said only a court of law could decide that. 

“I told the officer, look at the man and his condition. He not only looked intoxicated but reeked of alcohol. I told the officer to document every single thing, including the condition of the man. The officer then began shouting at me about how I should not tell him how to do his job. The officer continued to scream like a ‘mafia man’. I put my head down and walked back to where my daughter was being lifted into the mortuary van,” she said. 

Deonarain said she was forced to say goodbye to her “true and only best friend”.

“My daughter and I shared a very close bond. She would share every single detail of her life with me. She had only just turned 21 years old just a week before her death, but she was wise beyond her years. I lost my entire world,” she said. 

Deonarain said when she returned home from the scene, she thought about the response of the police officer. 

“He was very rude, arrogant and dismissive and seemed to want to just get me away from them and the bakkie. After my daughter’s funeral I started my own investigation. I then approached the Chatsworth SAPS station to lodge a formal complaint about the behaviour and contempt of the officers at the scene. I spoke to the station commander and told her that like every station, there were  some ‘bad apples’. I gave them month to investigate and nothing was done. 

“I have since written to IPID and the office of the provincial police commissioner, who have intervened and the docket has been removed from Chatsworth SAPS. I feel they handled my child’s tragic passing with complete indifference, negligence and corruption. There needs to be accountability. I am also not only doing this for my daughter, but for other families so that they don’t have to start doing their own investigation after their child’s funeral to find out the truth of what happened,” she said.

Phaladi Shuping, the spokesperson for IPID said they were investigating allegations of defeating the ends of justice in relation to the conduct of the police officers.

Colonel  Robert Netshiunda, a provincial police spokesperson, did not respond to the allegations of corruption. However, he confirmed the accident.

THE POST