EXCLUSIVE: This is police chief's
controversial house
2016-11-23
16:51
Angelique Serrao and Pieter-Louis Myburgh, News24
Johannesburg - The upmarket house owned by acting police
commissioner General Khomotso Phahlane, that forms the basis of an IPID probe,
is in one of Gauteng's most exclusive lifestyle estates.
The house, of which News24 has obtained a picture, is thought to
be worth about R8m.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has been
conducting an investigation into how Phahlane managed to afford the house,
which he had built in 2011 and 2012.
Allegations of cash payments of at least R700 000 and money
stuffed into plastic shopping bags form part of the probe, News24
has established.
The picture of the house was included in an email forensic
investigator Paul O'Sullivan distributed among senior police officials in
March. O'Sullivan asked the IPID to investigate whether Phahlane's house may be
linked to corruption.
According to property records, Phahlane and his wife, Beauty
Ntombizodwa, paid R850 000 in 2010 for a large erf in the upscale Sable Hills
Waterfront Estate outside Pretoria. Building the house, according to
O'Sullivan, cost between R4.7m and R5.8m.
There are two bonds registered on the property, according to the
property records, both registered with Nedbank.
The first bond, for R595 000, was registered in 2010. In 2011,
when construction of the house commenced, Phahlane and his wife registered a
second bond to the value of R2.2m.
The total value of the bonds, just under R2.8m, was well below the
estimated building costs, O'Sullivan has alleged. He wanted IPID to determine
how Phahlane managed to fund the shortfall amid claims by witnesses that the
contractor was paid with large bundles of cash stuffed into plastic shopping
bags.
According to the estate’s website, it is "tucked away within the thriving
Bushveld landscapes" and "lies on one of the most luxurious and truly
breathtaking estates this country has to offer".
Situated on the banks of the Roodeplaat Dam, north-east of
Pretoria, it has a gym with private trainers, tennis and squash courts, an
Olympic-size swimming pool with sun deck, and a volleyball court.
There is a private school on the premises, a boat club, a
guesthouse and a restaurant.
According to advertisements for properties currently on sale
within the estate, a home for "beginners" will set buyers back
R2.28m. A larger house with five bedrooms and five bathrooms is on sale for
R12.5m.
