Witness
Retired captain, South African Police Service; firearms expert · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Testified
A retired South African Police Service captain and firearms expert who attended the scene of the Morningside shooting in which Durban tow-truck operator Bevan Loftus and four other people were killed on 1 April 2023, and who gave evidence to the Madlanga Commission on 13 August 2026 (Day 158). His evidence cut both ways, which is what gives it weight. He described Bevan Loftus as a notorious figure who had been seen associating with the local Hollywood gang - contradicting the account the deceased's father had just given the commission. He then told the commission that the task team's own version of the shooting was 'highly improbable' on the physical evidence. The officers' account was that they found a door ajar, that men jumped up from a couch and that a shootout followed in which 27 rounds were fired. Houston's evidence was that the scene did not fit: 'most blood spatters were low on the wall and mostly on the floor', a distribution inconsistent with men shot while standing and returning fire, and the bodies lined up in the lounge did not match the wound trajectories he would expect from rifle fire in a flat that small. He is an expert witness, not an accused. His conclusions are opinion evidence placed before a commission of inquiry, they have not been tested in court, no finding has been made, and every officer concerned is presumed innocent and entitled to answer.
This profile summarises testimony and evidence given on the public record before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. It restates allegations as presented at the hearings and is not a finding of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing by any person.
Their role
Houston told the commission the task team's version - a door ajar, men jumping from a couch, a shootout in which 27 rounds were fired and five people died - was highly improbable given the configuration of the small flat and the physical evidence at the scene. Opinion evidence, untested; the officers concerned have not given their account to the commission and are presumed innocent.
His central forensic point was distribution: bullet strikes and blood spatter were concentrated low on the walls and on the floor, which he said does not fit an exchange of fire between people standing. He also told the commission the bodies lined up in the lounge did not correspond with the wound trajectories he would expect from rifle fire in that space. Untested.
Houston also told the commission that Bevan Loftus was a notorious figure who had been seen associating with members of the local Hollywood gang - directly contradicting the account given the same day by the deceased's father, Gregory Loftus, that his son had no involvement in drugs or violence. Both accounts stand before the commission; neither has been determined.
On the stand
Connections
Former police officer; father of Bevan Loftus
Houston described Bevan Loftus as a notorious gang associate, against his father's evidence that he was a legitimate towing operator - while giving forensic evidence that undermined the police version of the killing.
View profile →Attended the scene of his killingTow-truck operator and taxi owner, Durban; killed by a SAPS task team in 2023
Houston, a firearms expert, examined the Morningside scene where Bevan Loftus and four others were shot dead on 1 April 2023.
View profile →His evidence disputes the team's accountHead of the KwaZulu-Natal cash-in-transit task team, South African Police Service
Houston's forensic evidence goes against the account given by the task team commanded by Captain Deena Govender. Govender has not testified; untested, presumed innocent.
View profile →“Most blood spatters were low on the wall and mostly on the floor.”Retired SAPS captain and firearms expert Ashley Houston to the Madlanga Commission (Day 158, 13 August 2026), on why he considers the task team's account of the Morningside shooting 'highly improbable'. Opinion evidence, untested; the officers concerned are presumed innocent.
Sources