Suspended Hawks boss drops bombshell
September
20 2015 at 09:14am
By Solly Maphumulo
By Solly Maphumulo
Johannesburg -
Suspended KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen has filed an urgent court
application in a bid to have his suspension set aside, arguing that the suspension
is nothing else but an attempt to get rid of him.
Booysen dropped
a bombshell as he revealed how National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega
offered him a multimillion-rand early retirement offer in an attempt make him
leave the service.
These startling
details are contained in Booysen’s urgent application at the Durban High Court,
where he is challenging his suspension. He was served with the letter to that
effect last week.
Hawks spokesman
Hangwani Mulaudzi said “we will oppose” Booysen’s application.
Booysen is
challenging the newly appointed national head of the Hawks Berning Ntlemeza’s
decision to place him on suspension for allegedly making a fraudulent claim of
more than R15 000.
Initially, the
notice to suspend was served on Booysen on August 9, and he was given 24 hours
to give reasons as to why he shouldn’t be suspended. In his founding affidavit,
Booysen denies the allegations against him. He argues that he was not given
enough time to respond to the allegations before the decision to suspend him
was taken.
He denies
making a claim of R15 000. According to Booysen, he and several of officers in
his command were each paid an amount of R10 000 for linking a certain Mr
Buthelezi to the murder of a Superintendent Chonco.
He said the
payments were above board and were recommended by their then senior Assistant
Commissioner PT Brown who, according to Booysen, made an affidavit to Ntlemeza
which supported Booysen’s version. He says Ntlemeza chose to ignore it.
Booysen further
argues that Ntlemeza made the claims against him using a wrong case number.
“There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support the contention that I
was party to a fraud,” he says. He also listed a chain of events to be followed
before any payment can be made, and expressed surprise that he was the only one
charged with that offence.
“I submit that
the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from this is that Ntlemeza is
acting… with an ulterior motive and is determined to terminate my services,” he
argues.
He also questions
the police decision to interview for the vacant post vacated by former Hawks
boss Anwa Dramat on August 13, 2015, saying “it seems bizarre that I would be
considered for the highest post if the authorities truly believed I was guilty
of fraud.” He had also been shortlisted, although the position was given to
Ntlemeza.
Maintaining
that a vendetta was being waged against him, Booysen gives chronological
details of previous failed attempts to terminate his service after he began
investigating senior officers, including KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner
Mmamonnye Ngobeni in 2010.
Booysen was
investigating a R60 million SAPS accommodation tender involving Thoshan Panday,
who was a suspect in the fraud investigation. During the course of the
investigation he was instructed by Ngobeni to terminate the investigation, he
says in his affidavit.
He says he was
served with a notice of suspension on February 12, 2012 by former Hawks head
Lieutenant-General Dramat, for investigating Ngobeni. Dramat placed him on
suspension March 19, 2012. The suspension was set aside three days later in
court, following an urgent court interdict against Dramat.
On August 22,
2012, Booysen was arrested and charged with racketeering, among other charges,
and placed on suspension on September 11, 2012. However, all criminal charges
were withdrawn on February 2014.
“It is
necessary to point out that the National Commissioner (Phiyega) and her
immediate predecessor (Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi), through their unlawful and unfair
disciplinary proceedings, managed to have me suspended from my duties for a
period of two years from September 2012 to September 2014. Since the decision
of advocate Nazeer Cassim SC, I have resumed my duties and conducted my duties
to the best of my ability.
“The only
reasonable and inescapable conclusion I can draw from the aforegoing is that
there is an ongoing vendetta to remove me from office because of my commitment
to enforce the law and to bring those who participate in corrupt activities to
book.
Notwithstanding
the National Commissioner’s (Phiyega) efforts to persuade me to leave the SAPS
voluntarily by way of a generous severance package, I have resisted doing so,
as I take the view that I am obliged to perform my duty,” according to Booysen.
On Saturday Booysen
said he declined the golden handshake offer by Phiyega as “I believed in my
innocence, and accepting a golden handshake would have been a waste of
taxpayers’ money.”
Booysen further
said he felt that he still had the skills to make an impact on addressing crime
in KwaZulu-Natal.
Phiyega’s
spokesman Solomon Makgale, said: “there is no ulterior motive” against Booysen.
He said Phiyega
had offered Booysen a severance package because he and Ngobeni could not be
reconciled.
Last month
police sources told The Sunday Independent that police are allegedly in
possession of new evidence – described as “explosive video footage and
pictures” – allegedly showing Booysen and the controversial Cato Manor Serious
and Violent Crimes Unit celebrating after executing suspects.
“There is no
such a video,” said Booysen. “I challenge them once and for all to produce that
video, and to stop misleading the public in an endeavour to garner public
support.”
He added that
while they “carry on doing their talk in a boardroom, I will do my talking in a
court room.”
The Sunday Independent
