Crimes of the South African Police Service

SAPS generals rack up massive bill for luxury Sun City stay

2017-02-03 16:00

Angelique Serrao, News24

Johannesburg - Police generals stayed for three nights in luxury rooms at the Cascades Hotel in Sun City, racking up an accommodation bill of more than R121 000.

The long weekend stay at Sun City took place last weekend as part of National Police Day celebrations and the 2017 Excellence Awards, where Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane awarded and honoured outstanding members of the force.

Police said in the lead up to the events that they would celebrate January 27, National Police Day, because "on this day the leadership of the SAPS honours members and employees for their hard work and dedication in serving and protecting all in South Africa".

The police spent the day in the Boitekong community handing over items to those in need.

In the evening the awards took place at the Sun City International Superbowl.

News24 understands that the generals also took part in an organised golf clinic.

READ: Cops 'filling their bellies' at R100k a day

Sound proof rooms, pillow menu

An invoice for the accommodation sent to the police, which News24 has seen, shows that at least 16 generals stayed in luxury twin rooms at the Cascades Hotel at a cost of R3 065 per night.

Some of the generals stayed for three nights: January 26, 27 and 28. One official stayed in a luxury suite for two nights at a cost of R7 144 per night. The total cost for accommodation at the hotel for the weekend was R121 933.

The luxury suite is described on Sun International's website as being soundproof, with blackout curtains, a balcony or patio, outdoor furniture, a pillow menu and turn down service.  

Spokesperson Brigadier Sally de Beer said the acting commissioner planned that the awards take place on the same day as National Police Day "as a cost saving initiative, and to optimise the availability of employees to perform their normal day-to-day functions".

De Beer said the 2017 National Police Day celebration was held at Boitekong, Rustenburg "hence the decision to hold the National Excellence Awards Event at Sun City, which is the only venue near Rustenburg capable of holding such an event".

She said accommodation at Sun City was limited and all available accommodation was identified and booked from the most affordable accommodation.

"Not all generals were accommodated in the Cascades, and the accommodation of those who were accommodated in the Cascades [was] funded from sponsorship funds. Several generals were accommodated in the Cabana's, etc," De Beer said.

"Some dignitaries had to stay over for more than one night and, in general, only those who had to travel significant distances were allowed to stay over for more than two nights."

She said sponsorship funds were used to minimise the impact on the SAPS budget.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/saps-generals-rack-up-massive-bill-for-luxury-sun-city-stay-20170203

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Top cop's luxury car fleet comes under the spotlight

2017-01-25 14:00

Angelique Serrao, News24

Acting police commissioner General Khomotso Phahlane during a meet and greet at Mall of Africa (Iavan Pijoos, News24, file)

Johannesburg - The police watchdog's investigation into the lavish lifestyle of the country's top cop appears to be expanding into his and his wife's R4.3m fleet of luxury cars.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is apparently widening their lifestyle probe into Acting Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane to include the six vehicles he and his wife Beauty bought in the last two-and-a-half years. Beauty is also a career police officer.

In addition, investigators have taken a warning statement from Jolanta Komolodowicz, the person who sourced an R80 000 electronic sound system on Phahlane's behalf.

Last week, IPID carried out a search and seizure raid on Phahlane's home at the exclusive Sable Hills Waterfront Estate and removed the sound system allegedly sourced by Komolodowicz - the director of Crimetech Laboratories.

The company had obtained a multi-million rand tender to supply chemical and forensic supplies to the SAPS.

Komolodowicz previously told The Citizen that Phahlane visited Crimetech's offices in 2012. Impressed by the decor, he had asked her who her decorator was. Komolodowicz replied she had decorated the offices herself.

"General Phahlane then asked if I would be willing to advise him on decorating the house he was busy building. I agreed to advise General Phahlane in a strictly business arrangement for which I have been remunerated."

READ: IPID inside estate to raid acting top cop's home

Money in car boot

Komolodowicz told News24 she was no longer allowed to speak further about the sound equipment or what she told IPID, but she stuck to what she had told The Citizen.

The vehicles under investigation include Range Rovers, a Toyota Hilux and a Mercedes Benz, and are estimated to cost around R4.3m. News24 understands that at least four of the cars are being financed for around R2m in total.

News24 reported in 2016 that IPID was investigating Phahlane over a property which allegedly cost R8m for the land and construction. A portion of the R8m was paid in cash.

IPID investigators probed alleged cash payments to a contractor totalling R700 000. The money was allegedly in plastic shopping bags in the boot of a car.

READ THIS EXCLUSIVE: This is police chief's controversial house

IPID is now apparently looking at the purchase of:

·    A grey Land Rover Discovery bought in August 2014

·    A grey Range Rover Sport bought in October 2016

·    A white single cab 3.0 diesel 4x4 Toyota Hilux bought in January 2016

·    A beige Volkswagen Amarok bought in April 2015

·    A silver Volkswagen Polo bought in February 2016

·    A E250 CDI Mercedes Benz bought in January 2015

Police spokesperson Brigadier Sally de Beer said the allegations were factually inaccurate and were an attempt to defame and humiliate Phahlane.

She also indicated that Phahlane would fight back in court.

"As in the instance where it was widely and inaccurately reported that the acting national commissioner had received a sound system as a corrupt gift and the fact was that he had paid for it himself, the allegations in the leaked story relating to vehicles are misleading and false," De Beer said.

READ: Investigation an assault on character and integrity - Phahlane

Investigators threatened

Phahlane claims he produced proof of payment for the sound system, showing the money was transferred from his personal account to the service provider.

IPID also obtained a warning statement last week from Phahlane in relation to an allegation that he had attempted to defeat the ends of justice while they were working on the investigation.

Forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan opened the original case against Phahlane in January 2016. He alleged then that the bond Phahlane had registered for the R8m property was considerably lower than the value of the house, which he had built in 2011 and 2012.

News24 has seen a badly-written SMS, from an unknown number, sent to one of the IPID investigators and O'Sullivan, which contains threats against those involved in the probe.

"This is a warning to u. we r aware that u workin fo a big foreign spy paul salivan who is funded by his masters. . . u must stop now. we know where u stay and ur family. U must either choose to die with him [sic]," it reads.

Phahlane previously said that while he respected IPID, he found it unfortunate that the investigation was being conducted through the media. He attacked O'Sullivan's involvement in the investigation and called him a foreigner.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/top-cops-luxury-car-fleet-comes-under-the-spotlight-20170125

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Phahlane on his 'lifestyle, many women and love child'

2017-02-02 16:15

Thulani Gqirana, News24

Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane. (News24, file)

Cape Town – Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane would welcome any investigation into his career, he has said.

He has also been the subject of lifestyle audits, he said, and would welcome them again.

And Police Minister Nathi Nhleko would not have hesitated to act against Phahlane, if he had been found guilty of violating the law, Nhleko said on Thursday.

The minister and the acting national commissioner were briefing Parliament's police committee on the allegations of corruption Phahlane is facing.

A confident Phahlane told the committee that he had heard there were calls for his entire career to be scrutinised.

"There is no objection to that. I've got a proud track record as a member of the service. The issues we are dealing with are issues during my time as the divisional commissioner of forensic services and I continue to be proud to have had an opportunity to manage that environment."

READ: Phahlane 'unshaken' by corruption allegations

Unfairly persecuted

If he had to go back to the forensic unit again tomorrow, he would do so proudly, he told the committee.

Detailing the various investigations into his lifestyle, he painted a picture of a man who was being unfairly persecuted.

This was in relation to allegations that he had sexual relationships with subordinates, was involved in corruption, as well as irregular appointments at the forensic services.

He also addressed allegations of tax violation and questions about his house.

Phahlane said the value of his house kept changing in media reports, depending on the day, from between R3m to R8m.

"I have also heard R10m being mentioned," he said.  

Trial by media

What was happening now, Phahlane said, was a trial by media.

"I so wish that there was a car that delivered these bags of money because I would have shared with you, even after the fact minister," a carefree Phahlane said before the committee.

"It's as if we are hooligans carrying around bags full of money taking them to places. It's damaging," he said.

He was even more dismissive of old allegations of a love child conceived with a Brigadier Linda De Wit (Kleynhans), who was at the meeting.

"Now to address my many women and children. If I had a child with her, our child would be coloured. I hear that we have stashed this child here in the Western Cape, maybe we should go see this child after this meeting and you are welcome to take pictures," he joked.

He said he was a man with a wife and children and these allegations did not sit well with him.

Confidence in Phahlane

Nhleko was asked if he still had confidence in Phahlane.

"The question is, this report is clear in terms of what happened and I'm fine with that," Nhleko said.

If the report had laid out different results, he said, he would not have hesitated to subject Phahlane to a disciplinary hearing. And he had told him this.

"There can't be allegations and they end somewhere mid-air like the highways in Cape Town. You must subject them to a particular process. The forensic report clears most of the issues and I am fine with that."

A lot of emphasis was placed on private investigator Paul O'Sullivan and his role in the investigation against Phahlane.

Asked who O'Sullivan was, Nhleko said: "He is a private investigator, I am told. He is English, I am told."

Nhleko attributed the current storm around Phahlane to a fight for the position the acting commissioner currently holds.

He said since the Classen report on suspended national commissioner Riah Phiyega's fitness to hold office, people were "jostling" to get the job.

Discussing O'Sullivan, Phahlane said he [Phahlane] was merely one of a number of people that the private investigator was determined to "deal with".

"He has a hall of fame and my name is there, and so is my minister," he said.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/phahlane-on-his-lifestyle-many-women-and-love-child-20170202

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Shaun Abrahams 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' - Maimane

2016-11-29 18:33

Thulani Gqirana, News24

Shaun Abrahams (Thulani Gqirana, News24).

Cape Town – NPA head Shaun Abrahams is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, DA leader Mmusi Maimane told Parliament on Tuesday.

The EFF’s Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi, meanwhile, called him a threat to the independence of the NPA.

Maimane was opening a debate meant to focus on the effect of the NPA’s decisions on the economy, when he instead focused on the politics.

This was in relation to the NPA’s decision to charge Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with fraud, and then later withdrawing the charges against him.

The DA leader reflected on the past decade at the NPA, which has had six national heads in total.

The NPA had been used, Maimane said, by President Jacob Zuma to shield himself from the law.

"The position of National Director of Public Prosecutions is meant to be a ten-year term, but over the past decade it has been reduced to a revolving door of deployed cadres."

Abrahams 'must fall'

Maimane said all NPA heads had vacated because of one person, and that was Zuma.

"This was either because they weren’t prepared to do his bidding, or because it was so blatantly obvious they were being controlled that the courts had to pull the plug on them. Instead of fighting crime and corruption, this vital institution of our democracy has now become a key ally of the criminal syndicate dominant in the ANC," he said.

They should not be fooled by Abrahams, Maimane said.

"He goes by 'Shaun the Sheep', but don’t let this fool you. This man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing."

He called for the way in which the NPA head was hired and fired to be changed, as currently left too much power in the hands of the president.

The most important thing, Mkhaliphi said, was the impact that the NPA’s decisions now had on democracy.

The EFF had already written to the bar council demanding that Abrahams be removed, she said.

"He must fall for taking political orders from Luthuli House and threatening the NPA independence. But the most dangerous person is Mr Zuma," she said.

'Unbelievable inanity and stupidity'

The president wanted to capture everything, Mkhaliphi said.

"Even himself, Mr Shaun Abrahams must fall, and he must fall with his father, Mr Zuma."

UDM chief whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa questioned what caused such an institution to behave with "unbelievable inanity and stupidity".

The ANC insisted that they respected the independence of the NPA.

Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery accused the opposition of politicising the NPA.

He also raised concerns about the party allowing DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach to speak on the matter, as she "was an accused person".

"It is appropriate that such a person is a shadow minister of justice, of all things?" the deputy minister said.

Breytenbach had an axe to grind with the NPA, Jeffery said.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/shaun-abrahams-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing-maimane-20161129

Crimes of the South African Police Service

KZN businessman, senior cop charged with trying to bribe Hawks boss

2016-09-02 17:38

Jeff Wicks, News24

Thoshan Panday (City Press)

Pretoria - Controversial Umhlanga businessman Thoshan Panday and police officer Colonel Navin Madhoe have been charged with corruption for allegedly attempting to bribe suspended KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen.

In Booysen's own protracted court battles, he has insisted that he was side-lined for pursuing criminal prosecutions against Panday, who was described as "politically connected".

READ: NPA lays charges against Durban businessman Thoshan Panday

In the lead-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Panday and his companies had raked in millions in procurement contracts, which had been facilitated by Madhoe and Captain Aswin Narainpershad, who worked in the police's Supply Chain Management Unit.

According to a statement released by the National Prosecuting Authority on Friday, National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shaun Abrahams had decided to institute the criminal prosecution against Madhoe and Panday.

"The charges relate to an incident where former KwaZulu-Natal head of the Hawks, Genaral Johan Booysen, was offered in excess of R1m to backdate a report relating to the investigation about irregular procurement processes in respect of accommodation during the 2010 World Cup.

"Colonel Madhoe wanted General Booyen to backdate the report in order for same to be regarded as inadmissible during subsequent litigation process," it reads.

"The DPP KZN had previously declined to prosecute in this matter; however, the NDPP reviewed the matter in terms of Section 179 (5) (d) of the Constitution.

"The accused and their legal representatives have been advised of the NDPP’s decision. The accused will appear in the Durban Regional Court on a date agreed upon by the DPP KZN and the legal representatives of the accused."

Panday, Madhoe and Narainpershad have also been asked for representations by Abrahams relating to irregular procurement during the World Cup.

The DPP in KwaZUlu-Natal had also declined to prosecute them in the past.

"The NDPP has prescribed the 16th September 2016 as a deadline for the submission of the representations. A decision in respect of this matter will be taken after receipt of the said representations should the suspects avail themselves of this opportunity," it reads.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/kzn-businessman-senior-cop-charged-with-trying-to-bribe-hawks-boss-20160902

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Controversial KZN cop to challenge NPA head's charges against him

2017-01-31 15:49

Tania Broughton, News24 Correspondent

Shaun Abrahams, national director of the National Prosecuting Authority. (Netwerk24)

Durban – Controversial Durban police officer Colonel Navin Madhoe has taken NDPP Shaun Abrahams to court to challenge his decision to reinstate corruption charges against him and businessman Thoshan Panday.

Madhoe and the politically-linked Panday allegedly tried to bribe KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Major General Johan Booysen.

The application, filed in the Durban High Court, could see Abrahams pitted against KwaZulu-Natal’s head of prosecutions Moipone Noko. She decided to withdraw charges against Madhoe and Panday in 2014, claiming there was no winnable case.

The pair allegedly offered Booysen R2m in return for what was said to be a crucial document in a R60m FIFA World Cup police accommodation tender fraud case.

Madhoe is a career police officer, who is still the head of procurement in KwaZulu-Natal. He was arrested in a filmed "sting operation". Panday was linked to the case through cash allegedly handed over in a suitcase.

Noko withdrew the charges after the two made representations. Last year, Abrahams informed them that the corruption charges would be reinstated.

Madhoe wants Abrahams' decision declared "unlawful" because it goes against Noko’s decision. Abrahams gave no good reason "other than, there is evidence in the police docket", Madhoe says in his affidavit, in which he cites both advocates as respondents.

'He is talking rubbish'

He blames Booysen for Abrahams' decision and claims the policeman and the prosecutor are trying to "settle scores", and that he is just a pawn in the matter.

"Abrahams authorised racketeering and murder charges against Booysen (in the Cato Manor death squad case) in February last year. Booysen alleges a political conspiracy involving Panday and Abrahams.

"In order to counter and neutralise this theory, Abrahams publicly announced to the entire national and international media that we were to be charged. Even Booysen said it was a cynical move," Madhoe says.

He repeatedly claims in his affidavit that he is an important witness in Cato Manor trial, which is pending before the Durban High Court.

But, in an interview with News24, Booysen said the witness list had long been finalised – as confirmed by the prosecutor in open court – and Madhoe had never been on it. There was also no statement from him.

"He is talking rubbish," Booysen said.

Noko’s reasons for dropping the charges form part of the court documents. She alleges Booysen wanted to "silence Madhoe" because of his "damning evidence against him".

'Conjecture, innuendo, and untruths'

She claimed to have evidence of a conspiracy to oust KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni so that Booysen could take her place.

Booysen, in an official document, describes Noko’s reasons as "verbose, permeated with conjecture, innuendo, and untruths".

Panday has not launched a similar challenge. His attorney was in court monitoring proceedings when the matter came before Judge Jacqui Henriques on Monday.

Both Abrahams and Noko had filed notices of opposition. The matter was adjourned for them to file papers.

Ngobeni had been suspended from duty ahead of an internal investigation into allegations that she had a corrupt relationship with Panday. She allegedly interfered with the investigation into his role in the World Cup fraud matter. She had launched her own court challenge to this.

Booysen was also suspended. He and the remaining 26 accused in the Cato Manor case appeared briefly in court this week. They were all challenging the decision to prosecute them. Their matter was adjourned until September this year.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/controversial-kzn-cop-to-challenge-npa-heads-charges-against-him-20170131