IPID unhappy with police investigation into death of Vrede whistleblower
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) says it’s not happy with the quality of the investigation into the death of Vrede Dairy Farm whistleblower Philemon 'Booi' Ngwenya.
Ngwenya, who was a beneficiary of the Vrede Dairy Farm project, was found murdered in his shack at Knelvlei Farm outside Vrede in 2018.
Two suspects has been linked to the killing but no arrests have been made give years after Ngwenya’s death.
This has led to the family believing that the case is not being made a priority.
The Gupta-linked project was addressed during the commission of inquiry into state capture, with the commission making three recommendations in its report.
The report recommended that investigations should be launched into the South African Police Service for their abuse, non-responsiveness and inaction in the Vrede Dairy Farm project.
Ipid lead investigator Osborne Khanye told Parliament’s police committee on Wednesday that the watchdog organisation is doing everything in its power to bring finality to Ngwenya's case.
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"We looked at the investigation of the murder in relation to Mr Ngwenya that was registered at Vrede. There were allegations of poor investigation. There were reports that came to Ipid to say we are not happy with the investigation that is being conducted regarding the death of Mr Ngwenya. In light of these allegations, Ipid engaged the detective commander at the Vrede SAPS to establish the status. We wanted to know the status of the matter and engage in the status of the document."
"We as IPID are not happy with the quality of the investigation. The allegations of poor investigation, hence we went to meet with the NPA to say this is the allegation and this is what we have found. We needed the NPA to come together with Ipid to raise these things.
“We heard the NPA's point of view in terms of what we found and whether that will hamper the investigation. We are concerned, and we have taken a decision that the quality of investigation is satisfactory and the outcomes are something that will address the challenges of the deceased.”
Khanye said Ipid will keep the family informed on the progress of the investigation.
"What IPID will be doing until the finalisation of the investigation is that they will receive and provide feedback to the family. The family believes that the investigation has not been done properly."
