MP demands answers in parliament on prolonged Chatsworth police torture case
Reason for the postponements
Timothy Naidoo, the father of Regan Naidoo who died while in police custody, outside Durban Magistrate’s Court with brother-in-law Jeffery Mahalingam. |File Photo
Image: Tanya Waterworth/Independent Media
IN THE National Assembly last week, MK Party MP Visvin Reddy, questioned why the trial of 14 Chatsworth police officers charged with the torture and murder of Regan Naidoo had been delayed for seven years.
Reddy raised the matter after appeals from the victim's frustrated family, with Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia citing multiple postponements due to legal complications, defence strategies, and procedural issues.
Frustrated at the ongoing delays, Naidoo’s family appealed to Reddy to enquire about the delays at the National Assembly.
Reddy questioned Cachalia, about the delays, the reason for the postponements of the case, and the steps taken by police to ensure that justice was served for the Naidoo family.
He also questioned the measures implemented by the police to hold the implicated officers accountable and prevent similar cases from stalling.
In his response, Cachalia said the matter was first placed before court on September 22, 2021 and was pending feedback from the National Director of Public Prosecutions, due to a complaint made by some of the defence attorneys.
He said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has maintained regular communication with Naidoo’s father, Timothy Naidoo, and they were in engagements with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and SAPS to ensure that the matter was not unnecessarily delayed.
“After the matter was first brought before court, there were more than 19 adjournments due to various reasons. After the arrest of the 21 police officers during 2021, there was a further arrest of a senior police officer during 2023, which brought the total arrested to 22.
“Subsequently, the deputy director of public prosecutions for the KZN division had several meetings with the chief public prosecutor, senior public prosecutor, and the public prosecutor, and appointed an advocate in late 2023, early 2024. This was to oversee the case from the KZN DPP’s side,” Cachalia stated in his response.
He said during further meetings between stakeholders, the overseeing advocate withdrew some charges against some of the accused persons.
Some of the adjournments were requested so that the evidence could be reviewed by the advocate.
“At the onset of the case, one of the defence attorneys brought many applications for further particulars. A defence attorney for another accused made numerous representations to the NPA. He thereafter changed attorneys. This resulted in the new attorney on record requesting documents.
“He further made representations to the senior public prosecutor and later the DPP. An accused passed away in the line of duty during 2023. When the matter was eventually set down for pre-trial conference during early 2025, and after a trial date was set, a defence attorney brought in additional senior counsel at the last minute, who then made an application to the court citing that some evidence was not obtained correctly. This took some time to resolve,” he added.
He said delays were also due to some of the accused booking off sick during various court appearances.
“During late 2024 and early 2025, defence attorneys made allegations against the prosecution services and vice versa. The senior public prosecutor dealing with the matter has the complete charge sheet which sets out the reasons for the ongoing remands. The charge sheet is current and remains an ongoing record of proceedings.
“The investigating officer has attended all court appearances and has ensured that the family receives necessary progress updates. Additionally, the state prosecutor has also endeavoured to keep the deceased’s father and family informed after each court session. “IPID remains committed to ensure that the trial proceeds without further hindrances by ensuring the investigating officer attends every court proceeding to support the prosecution, and to secure witnesses availability.”
Cachali said IPID recommended and assisted with misconduct proceedings which were initiated by SAPS against implicated members on March 31, 2023, where nine officers were found guilty of misconduct under their Standing Orders and Regulations.
They were all sanctioned with suspension without salary for one month. The senior police officer was disciplined and found guilty during separate proceedings and sanctioned with a written warning.
“IPID is in continuous engagements and collaboration meetings with the NPA, DPP and SAPS to ensure that matters are not unnecessarily delayed, and that justice is served be it prosecution or misconduct proceedings,” Cachalia said in his response to Reddy.