Johannesburg - Lieutenant-Colonel Leslie “Cowboy” Maluleke has vowed to appeal against the ruling after he was found guilty of kidnapping seven Zimbabweans who were suspected of killing a top cop in their country.
Last week, he was also found guilty by an internal disciplinary hearing of being an accomplice to the murder of John Nyoni and Gordon Dube, who were part of another Zimbabwean group who were kidnapped.
The seven Zimbabweans were arrested and detained at various police stations in 2010 and 2011 and then handed over to the Zimbabwean police.
Nyoni and Dube were allegedly killed by police in their country.
Maluleke is the latest officer to be axed for his alleged role in the illegal renditions saga.
In July, Gauteng Hawks boss Major-General Shadrack Sibiya was fired after he was found guilty of gross misconduct for his involvement.
Maluleke said on Tuesday: “I’m going to appeal. I did not kidnap anyone. If you arrest a suspect, is that kidnapping? I am also not an accomplice to any murder.”
The first operation was in November 2010 in Diepsloot, north of Joburg, and led to the arrests of Shepherd Tshuma, Maqhawe Sibanda, Witness Ndeya and Nelson Ndlovu.
According to Tshuma, who is a rendition survivor, Maluleke and several other police officers descended on Diepsloot, where Maluleke brandished a list of the people he was looking for in connection with the murder of a top cop in Zimbabwe.
The Star