Dr. Warwick Anthony Dorning

Doctor Warwick Anthony Dorning (1954 – 2009)

Brief overview:

Dr Dorning was shot dead on his farm Adamhurst near Pietermaritzburg by three armed men - shot in the head execution-style in front of his wife Dawn. His mother Noo and Dawn were traumatised but unhurt. A spent 9mm cartridge was found on the scene. Dorning, a high-level ANC member and government official was retired in July as chief of staff in the KwaZulu premier's office although. The police said they could not rule out robbery, yet very little was stolen. The three perpetrators were cornered by the police in Crammond outside Pietermaritzburg and arrested.
Howick police inspector Michael Sokhela was arrested with two other suspects in connection with Dr Warwick Dorning’s murder. Sokhela was reportedly found in possession of items stolen from the Dorning’s household, hidden in house. “We can confirm that there are about 12 cases investigated against Sokhela, including internal investigations. Four of the cases are sub judice. It’s bad enough that we have a mammoth task of fighting crime but it’s worse when some of our own become suspects in criminal activities,” police spokewoman Inspector Joey Jeevan confirmed, adding that the law will take its course. A police source alleged that several crimes in the Howick and Riet­vlei areas have not been solved because there are police members who are “rotten”. “How do you explain the disappearance of dockets and failure by certain police officers to gather evidence on crime scenes?”A fourth suspect was shot dead after brandishing a firearm at the police, and that those arrested were directly linked with three other farm attack cases. Sokhela, a former member of the then South African Defence Force (SADF), and his alleged accomplices were remanded in custody by the Howick Magistrate’s Court. On 10th December, Sokhela appeared in the Howick Magistrate’s Court for, other September 2008 charges, of negligent driving and driving under the influence of alcohol as well as being in possession of a state firearm.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family:
  • Noo Dorning (85) year old mother, and wife Dawn, both threatened, but unharmed.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding:
  • Adamshurst Farm, near Howick, Mpophomeni, KwaZulu-Natal
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • 20/06/2011: "The local farming community has nothing but high praise for the sterling work being done by a group of dedicated policemen attached to Pietermaritzburg’s Organised Crime Unit under the command of Colonel Piet Scott, who lay claim to a near 100 percent success rate in solving farm murders in the KZN Midlands since 2003.
  • Of the nineteen Midlands farm murder cases handled by the team dating back to the murder of Shaun Clark in Camperdown (2003), only one, arising from the murder of Philip Rudolph Buys in Weenen in September 2003, is classed as “unsolved”. The unit arrested a total of 50 culprits in connection with the eighteen “solved” cases with 24 of the killers sentenced to life imprisonment and others receiving sentences ranging from an effective 30 years imprisonment to 18 years imprisonment.
  • The midlands farm murder cases that have been solved by the team include the murders of: Shaun Clark of Camperdown (2003); Johannes Willem Bruwer (Camperdown, 2003); Parvathie Surapen (Thornville, 2003); Charles Hyett Shepherd (Bergville, 2003); Nora Joyce Gevers (Wartburg, 2004); David Boyd Varty (Rietvlei, 2005); Trevor Anthony Weightman Trevor Weightman (Winterton, 2005); Jacqueline Ivy Chatterton (Boston, 2005); Ezra Arieh Podolski (Eric) (Cramond, 2006); Andrew Roy Main (Cramond, 2007); David Merwyn Green (Estcourt, 2007); Alan Rowe (Rietvlei, 2009); Erasmus Mncube Erasmus Mncube (and attack on his employers, Collin and Nola Barrett at Nottingham Road in 2009); Dr. Warwick Anthony Dorning (Mpophomeni, 2009); Lynette Ralfe (Colenso, 2010); Lorraine Karg , Hilda Linyane, Zakeue Shayi Mhlongo (Mooi River, 2010) and Radash Anandlal (Cramond, 2010)
  • Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joey Jeevan, said the management of the SAPF commends Colonel Scott and the unit for their “sterling investigation and their dedication to duty”."
    • http://archive.fo/oos7b
  • 71 farm murders in Colenso, Winterton rural areas between 2001 and 2011, Since 2001 there have been 17 Farmers and around 54 staff / community members murdered on 83 farms in Winterton, Colenso and surrounding areas.

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack:
  • 20h00, 7th November 2009
• Weapons:
  • 9mm Pistol
• Items Stolen:
  • Dorning’s wallet, two cell phones, a DStv decoder, video player.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
  • Police Director Phindile Radebe, Inspector Joey Jeevan
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions:
  • Three
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s:
  • Police inspector Michael Sokhela, Welcome Madlala, Mlungisi Hadebe.
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s: South African
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

The Dornings had developed and expanded an indigenous plant nursery and coffee shop on the farm - Country Cafe - which overlooks Midmar Dam from the Underberg Road. The nursery sells a wide variety of indigenous plants, including trees, shrubs, bulbs, succulents and ground-covers. Dorning himself, using his consummate writing skills, intended to continue to write speeches and other research material on a contract basis.

Links to Media articles:

• https://www.news24.com/Archives/Witness/Accused-cops-many-cases-201...
• https://www.news24.com/Archives/Witness/Top-official-killed-20150430
• http://afrikaner-genocide-achives.blogspot.com/2009_12_06_archive.html
• http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2010/06/saps-members-arre...
• http://natalia.org.za/Files/40/Natalia%2040%202010%20Obituaries%20W...
• http://archive.is/dTIiu
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000193974905839