Pretoria - Detectives of the Port Shepstone Organised Crime Unit have earned the praise of Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa for the role they played in the conviction of Umzinto serial killer, Thozamile Taki.
Mthethwa, who attended some of the court proceedings and personally met with the members of the unit, commended them for "sterling" police work.
The minister singled out Captain Nico Crouse, Warrant Officer Bridget Crouse, Warrant Officer Ernest Nkabane, Warrant Officer Dumisani Nzama, Captain Samuel Nyawose and Captain Francois Moller, who were responsible for the good detective work, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Campbell Nyuswa.
"We commend these members for their great investigative and detective work. We have over the past two years emphasized the important role that detectives need to play in the fight against crime, across all aspects of policing. When we speak about fighting crime smartly and toughly, this is the kind of smart investigation we shall expect from all our detectives across the country," he said.
Last week, Taki was found guilty of the murder of 13 women. He lured the women with the promise of jobs and then killed them and dumped their bodies in sugarcane plantations in Umzinto and Port St Johns.
He was convicted of 26 charges, which included murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Taki is expected to be sentenced on 19 January.
Mthethwa said the good work police put into the case, which spanned more than two years and saw almost 100 witnesses being called to testify, should motivate investigative teams across the country.
He added that a successful conviction in the Taki case was due to the "working-together approach" adopted by the investigation team and their colleagues from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
The minister noted that proper detective work had some bearing on the outcome of a criminal case.
"It is worrisome when a serious case such as rape or murder is thrown out of court as a result of insufficient evidence or police officers having boggled the case through shoddy investigations. Without doubt, had the investigation been sub-standard, this scoundrel would have walked scot-free and continued his evil acts," he said.
Mthethwa added that his ministry planned to increase the number of detectives and was focusing on re-skilling and training detectives.
