Viewfinder – Page 2

A Killing in the Winelands

Viewfinder's first documentary film revisits the murder of Letsekang Thokoane, a young shopkeeper, by police during the farm worker strike in De Doorns in 2013. Why were the killers not held accountable? From the scene of the murder in Elubisi township a paper trail leads us to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate's head office in Pretoria to ask this question.

by Daneel Knoetze

Featured Content

Killing the files

IPID’s cover-up of police brutality in SA

Viewfinder exposes how underfunding, State Capture and statistical manipulation at IPID allowed violent criminals in the South African Police Service escape accountability.

Killing the files

Month-end at the IPID: a time for “killing files”?

A data analysis confirms that IPID cases are completed near statistical reporting deadlines. Whistleblowers alleged many such cases were poorly investigated.

Killing the files

“Special Closure”: the high-water mark of IPID’s cover-up

A function called "special closure" on IPID's case management system was used to "kill off" likely hundreds of criminal cases against the police in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Evidence of IPID cover-up mounts, but Joemat-Pettersson declines to act

After many delays, IPID finally return to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Policing to give their side of the story. But, IPID's presentation does not respond to the mounting evidence pointing to a nationwide cover-up.

December 4, 2019January 23, 2020

“I was furious” – former Police Committee chair reacts to IPID cover-up

Annelize van Wyk was one of the Parliament's longest serving Police Portfolio Committee members. At a roundtable discussion of Viewfinder's findings on IPID, she suggests a path for better Parliamentary oversight of the directorate.

October 24, 2019January 23, 2020

Viewfinder responds to Robert McBride

Former IPID director Robert McBride criticised Viewfinder's exposé in an op-ed. In this response to McBride, Viewfinder points out that neither McBride nor IPID's current management have yet contested a single fact reported by us.

October 18, 2019January 23, 2020

Police watchdog: report on statistical manipulation allegations due next week

Parliamentarians grill IPID on reports of statistical manipulation and the covering up of cases. IPID promises to publish its own report on statistical manipulation.

October 11, 2019January 23, 2020