Poor police work blamed in dropped Umtata fraud case
Friday October 7 2005
By Denver Donian
Source: The Herald Online
King William’s Town – An internal investigation into alleged poor police work leading to a charge of fraud being laid against deputy provincial commissioner Trevor Hayes, has been delayed while the director of public prosecutions in Umtata holds the docket.
It was learnt yesterday that police were unable to get the docket from director Humphrey Lusu, and the investigation has been stalled.
An investigation was ordered by provincial commissioner Sipho Mpongoma in November after Mr Hayes was exonerated of the fraud charge by deputy national DPP Advocate Jan Henning.
According to the source, Mr Mpongoma requested national police headquarters to intervene to assist in obtaining the docket “but there had been no response”. Several attempts to contact provincial police headquarters about the investigation were unsuccessful. Mr Hayes was accused of fraudulently claiming R962 for a school uniform for his daughter after he was transferred from Port Elizabeth to Umtata in 1996.
A botched police investigation into the alleged fraud by a high-ranking police official is believed to have led to an instruction from Mr Lusu for Mr Hayes to be charged. In a statement Mr Mpongoma said documentation received by his office from Mr Henning stated that prosecution against Mr Hayes be stopped as there was no prima facie case against him.
The statement said the decision to prosecute Mr Hayes was based on incomplete facts submitted by the investigating officer.
