Former 'Cato Manor Unit' officers challenge years of unjust prosecutions in court

This week, after years of stalling, the first of at least 20 claims by former members of the Durban Organised Crime Unit – who were later cleared of all charges – was set to begin in the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Durban.

The unit, known colloquially as the “Cato Manor Unit”, was headed by Major General Johan Booysen, and members found themselves arrested and in the dock several times over the years, facing serious charges including racketeering.

Costly settlements

In the meantime, Captain Eugene van Tonder, a member of the unit, was made an undisclosed offer to settle by State legal representatives. This has cleared the way for other officers, including Booysen, to also stake their civil claims.

Booysen, who has since retired from the SAPS and who has testified extensively at the Zondo and Mokgoro commissions, is claiming about R10-million.

Seven dates have been set aside for the seven matters to be heard, with Van Tonder’s being the first. Booysen’s case will be heard over three days in November, while the rest of the former officers will have to wait until April next year. The State has indicated that it has “no witnesses” to challenge the allegations.

De Kock report

In 2019, Shamila Batohi, the current head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), tasked prosecutor, advocate Rodney de Kock, with exploring the validity and appropriateness of decisions to sign off on the racketeering charges against the unit. The decisions had been taken by then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions head, advocate Nomgcobo Jiba and her successor, Shaun Abrahams. 

The allegations were contained in 23 dockets alleging the officers “unlawfully” murdered 28 individuals and were also allegedly involved in a “criminal enterprise that killed for reward and financial gain”.

As the De Kock report noted, the matter has a long history, with the crimes allegedly taking place from 3 September 2008 to 4 September 2011. De Kock concluded, however, that the prosecutions had been “irrational and malicious”.

Booysen and his team had been investigating several matters related to former President Jacob Zuma’s family associates, including businessman Thoshan Panday.

Read more: NPA: Panday family members deeply implicated in 2010 Soccer World Cup corruption case

The De Kock report found that, concerning other cases of murder, the evidence of three apparent key witnesses was hearsay and should never have been admitted.

Sunday Times report

The entire Cato Manor saga came to a head when, in 2011, the Sunday Times published an article describing the unit led by Booysen as a “hit squad”.

The newspaper later apologised and retracted the article.

As a result, the then Independent Complaints Directorate, an earlier version of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, along with the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks), both probed the matter. 

Later, the two teams were collapsed into one “on the orders of the minister of police (Nathi Mthethwa). The minister, noted De Kock, had expressed “dissatisfaction with the progress”.

Read more: Commission hears how Nomgcobo Jiba wanted fake Cato Manor death squad prosecuted ‘urgently’

What followed, as set out at the Zondo Commission, was a conspiracy involving several prosecutors, including Jiba, to press charges against Booysen and the unit.

This was an attempt to remove the unit and scupper investigations.

Testifying at the Zondo Commission, advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa, then acting Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, said he had been contacted by Jiba in June 2012. Jiba had attempted to persuade him to sign the indictment against 27 officers “urgently”.

When Mlotshwa refused, pointing out that there was no accompanying information about the charges, he was contacted by South Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions Andrew Chauke, copying in Jiba in an email, stating that he would not be forwarding any report or further information.

Jiba later tried a second time to get Mlotshwa to sign, saying she had obtained a legal opinion on the matter which advised he should sign the indictment. Mlotshwa, who had been in the hot seat for only two years, was later replaced by advocate Moipone Noko. Mlotshwa stepped down in 2012, having never signed the indictment.

Read more: Implicated NPA KZN boss Moipone Noko headed for top North West job

Noko rushed to have the matter enrolled twice, once in 2012 and once in 2015. She also rushed to withdraw charges in the “Amigos” case involving the award of a R144-million contract by the provincial departments of health and local government. Among those charged were provincial ANC MECs Peggy Nkonyeni and Mike Mabuyakhulu.

Challenge

After being arrested twice, Booysen in 2014 challenged the relentless attack, with Durban high court judge Trevor Gorven later setting aside the charges, ruling they were indeed unconstitutional and unlawful.

Gorven ruled that there had been no evidence to justify Jiba’s decision to prosecute Booysen under racketeering laws. Booysen was then re-arrested in 2016 by Jiba’s successor, Shaun Abrahams, based on the same “evidence”. This was a decision Booysen and the other officers took on review.

Nomgcobo Jiba paid dearly for her fealty to Zuma and was dismissed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019 after recommendations by the Mokgoro Commission into her and prosecutor, advocate Lawrence Mrwebi’s, fitness to hold office.

Read more: Andrew Chauke: Haunted by the ghost of persecutions past

In September 2025, Ramaphosa announced the Nkabinde Commission of Inquiry into the fitness of one of the lead prosecutors in the matter, advocate Andrew Chauke. Chauke was suspended in July. 

Another implicated prosecutor is the now-retired advocate Sello Maema, who will also possibly face charges of fabricating evidence in the Cato Manor prosecutions.

Meanwhile, Booysen has had to rebuild his career, taking a position later as the head of investigations at Fidelity Security. He joined the SAPS at the age of 19 and retired just before he turned 60.

In 2021, four years after he exited the SAPS, Booysen was awarded the Stella Officii Egregii Gold Medal by then Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, for “outstanding work of meritorious nature”. DM