Attend to police corruption: Popcru
September 7 2012 at 06:46pm
By SAPA
By SAPA
Johannesburg - The national police commissioner was given an ultimatum
on Friday to attend to alleged corruption at the police forensic laboratory in
Silverton, Pretoria.
“Failure to attend to these matters will leave us with no option but to
mobilise all our resources for one of the biggest marches ever 1/8under
3/8taken by us,” Gauteng Popcru secretary MatsemelaMatsemela said.
He said national commissioner RiahPhiyega had seven days to act.
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) was addressing the media
on allegations that included sabotage to services, concealing or doctoring
crime statistics, theft of drugs, irregular appointments, and sexual
harassment.
Matsemela said Phiyega and Parliament's police portfolio committee were
informed of the allegations on June 25, but had failed to act.
“Given the sensitivity of that institution and the nature of the
allegations... after you received such allegations you ought to have acted,” he
said.
“Something is absolutely wrong there... They have the proof but they
don't want to act.”
Matsemela said the union had handed Phiyega a file of evidence on all
their allegations and she had not responded. The union claimed its members who
informed them of the allegations had been victimised through disciplinary
hearings.
“These disciplinary hearings are formulated with the sole intention of
creating (casting) doubt on the credibility of information provided by these
members and also serve as a basis to hide corruption.”
In April, the head of the laboratory made a presentation to the
portfolio committee, in which he said there was a backlog of 182
cases. Matsemela however said the backlog was actually at 5000, after
all the cases were consolidated.
Matsemela said between 2008 and 2010, drugs with a street value of R500
million were stolen from the laboratory.
Popcru wanted Phiyega to appoint a commission to investigate all the
allegations, suspend the head of the division pending the outcome of the investigation,
and provide whistle-blowers with protection.
“We expect nothing whatsoever from her, but to act on these serious
corrupt activities,” he said.
At a meeting in August Phiyega called on Popcru to declare “war on
corruption and criminality” within the police.
By 5.30pm on Friday afternoon, Phiyega's office could not be reached for
comment. - Sapa
