Complaint lodged by suspected kidnapper businessman

The powerful head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona, alongside the provincial commander of serious organised crime investigations in the unit, Brig Msizi Nyuswa, has been hauled before a disciplinary hearing on allegations of kidnapping, extortion, corruption, theft, malicious damage to property, and defeating the ends of justice.

- By Bongani Mdakane and Ngwako Malatji

Senona and Nyuswa were charged alongside their colleagues Col Ismail Dawood, Lt-Col Deena Govender, and Capt Azile Enoch.

This follows a complaint lodged by Mozambican businessman Esmael Nangy and his brother-in-law, Stefane Da Costa Brites, against the five KZN police officers in connection with the same charges.

Da Costa Brites and Nangy, who is also a suspected kidnapper, along with Nangy's wife, Nazia Nangy, were arrested and allegedly tortured by cops. The officers allegedly worked closely with the KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and are believed to be members of the political killings task team (PKTT). The suspects were allegedly tortured in connection with the kidnapping of KZN businessman Zakariyya Desai.

The wife of Da Costa Brites, Selma Pereira Da Costa Brites, was summoned to present herself as a witness at the hearing by Maj-Gen D Beukes. Selma was sent the summons on October 8, and instructed to attend the hearing, held at the Maupa Naga Building in Sunnyside, Pretoria, on October 22-23.