South Africa: 'My Son Was Murdered in Cold Blood By the Police,' Father Tells Inquiry

What the report says

Gregory Loftus, the father of a Durban tow truck operator killed in 2023, told South Africa’s Madlanga Commission that he believes his son was murdered by police during what was presented as a lawful operation. According to the Daily Maverick report distributed by AllAfrica, Loftus said he had tried to stop officers the day before the shooting by filing an affidavit aimed at preventing what he described as a planned killing.

The hearing took place on Thursday, 13 August 2026, and marked the commission’s first civilian testimony from a relative of someone killed in the incident. Loftus identified his son, Bevan Loftus, as having been shot on 1 April 2023 and said the killing was carried out at the direction of Clive Naicker, whom he described as a tow-truck industry rival and alleged drug dealer.

The report says a second retired police officer also raised doubts about the official account of the shooting, though that witness disputed Gregory Loftus’s claim that Bevan Loftus had no criminal involvement. The hearing also highlighted a difficult family history, including a prior criminal complaint Bevan Loftus had made against his father. The case matters because it forms part of a broader inquiry into alleged abuse of police power, possible corruption, and disputed deaths in police operations in South Africa.