Witness
Tow-truck operator, KwaZulu-Natal · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Named in evidence · has not testified
A KwaZulu-Natal tow-truck operator named in evidence before the Madlanga Commission on 13 August 2026 (Day 158) by Gregory Loftus, the father of tow-truck operator Bevan Loftus, who told the commission his son 'was murdered by the police under the guise of a legitimate police operation and at the instance of Clive Naiker, a competitor of Bevan in the tow truck industry and alleged drug dealer'. The allegation sits alongside IPID's evidence the previous day that the task team's commander received more than R2.5 million from the owner of a tow-truck company between August 2022 and December 2023 and more than R2.7 million connected to the killing. Naicker has not given evidence before the commission, has not answered any of this, and no court has considered it. He is presumed innocent, and nothing recorded here is a finding of any kind against him.
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
Gregory Loftus told the commission that his son was killed by police 'at the instance of Clive Naiker, a competitor of Bevan in the tow truck industry and alleged drug dealer'. This is an allegation made by a bereaved family member before a commission of inquiry. It is untested, Naicker has not answered it, no court has considered it, and he is presumed innocent.
On 31 August 2026 Lieutenant-Colonel Deenadayalan Govender, who commanded the task team named in the Morningside shooting, was questioned about his relationship with Naicker in open session after an application to hear the evidence in camera was refused. Per EWN he told the commission: 'My relationship with Clive Naicker is work-related. He assists with investigations. Um, I don't have a personal relationship with him, commissioner.' He acknowledged meetings with Naicker and with businessman Timmy Marimuthu, denied receiving any payment from Naicker, and denied Gregory Loftus's allegation that he authorised the killing on Naicker's behalf. Separately, chief evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC took Govender through 65 cash deposits totalling R1.7 million between August 2022 and December 2023 whose sources Govender attributed to a bank loan, family members and a businessman named Josh Chellin, not to Naicker. Naicker has still given no evidence and answered nothing before the commission. Everything here is untested and he is presumed innocent.
Connections
Tow-truck operator and taxi owner, Durban; killed by a SAPS task team in 2023
Named by the deceased's father as a competitor in the tow-truck industry and as the person at whose instance the killing allegedly occurred. Untested; presumed innocent.
View profile →The witness who named himFormer police officer; father of Bevan Loftus
Gregory Loftus's Day 158 evidence is the source of the allegation recorded on this page. Naicker has not answered it; untested, presumed innocent.
View profile →The officer alleged to have been paid by a tow-truck ownerHead of the Hawks' KwaZulu-Natal provincial tracing team; former commander of the province's cash-in-transit task team, South African Police Service
IPID alleged that the task-team commander received more than R2.5 million from the owner of a tow-truck company between August 2022 and December 2023. On Day 170 Govender denied any payment from Naicker and described their relationship as work-related and not personal. Untested; both men are presumed innocent.
View profile →Sources