Phiyega should be disciplined and dismissed‚ DA says

19 July 2015 - 15:24 By Rdm News Wire

The Democratic Alliance has accused national police commissioner Riah Phiyega of dereliction of duty‚ saying she should be disciplined and dismissed. DA spokesperson on police matters Dianne Kohler Barnard said in a statement on Sunday that after being granted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application‚ the DA was in possession of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) “suspiciously incomplete record of decision” into a matter relating to an investigation into General Riah Phiyega.It related to allegations that she was responsible for defeating the ends of justice by tipping off Western Cape Police Commissioner‚ Arno Lamoer‚ about an ongoing investigation against him. “And it clearly shows dereliction of her duty‚” Kohler Barnard said.This follows a report by the City Press on Sunday that Commissioner Phiyega should be disciplined for the NPA’s latest assertion that she was grossly negligent when not honouring the confidentiality that was expected of anyone of her station.It is alleged that General Lamoer was one part of a corrupt relationship between top police officials and a local businessman who allegedly had apparent links to the criminal “under-world”. Lamoer is also being tried for defeating the ends of justice.“It was always bizarre that Mr Lamoer was being prosecuted but not Phiyega because defeating the ends of justice‚ in this regard‚ is usually done in tandem‚” Kohler Barnard said.She added that the DA was still trying to obtain the rest of the NPA’s papers.“In any event the record of decision explicitly states that she acted negligently and should be the subject of a disciplinary hearing. The record of decisions states that ‘she did not keep the confidentiality that was so obviously required of her’.“The NPA’s record of decision goes further to state ‘the disclosure was in dereliction of Phiyega’s duty to respect the confidence that the monitors‚ the investigators and the Provincial and National Heads of the DPCI (Hawks) were entitled to expect of her’‚” Kohler Barnard said.The NPA had decided not to pursue this matter further because it couldn’t credibly establish intent which was an essential element of a crime‚ she added.This notwithstanding the NPA had expressly recommended that “the dereliction of duty on the part of the National Commissioner of Police is sufficiently well-founded and on the evidence and serious to merit recommending departmental disciplinary steps…In the present matter negligence‚ if not gross negligence‚ appears”.“Yet almost a full 10 months after the NPA completed its record of decision this inquiry has not been instituted. This is scandalous in and of itself. Ms Phiyega is clearly not fit for office and should’ve have been fired months ago‚” Kohler Barnard asserted.At present Ms Phiyega was mandated to make representations‚ by 31 July 2015‚ to President Jacob Zuma - as her appointing authority- outlining her fitness for office following the release of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry that clearly implicated Ms Phiyega in the Marikana Massacre that saw the death of 44 mine workers on 16 August 2012‚ Kohler Barnard added.“This‚ coupled with the laundry list of failings of the South African Police Service (SAPS) under her watch‚ should see her discharged once and for all; never mind an Inquiry into her fitness for office because her track record is evidence enough of her unsuitability to be SA’s top cop.”Kohler Barnard said the DA‚ ahead of Ms Phiyega’s deadline‚ would be making formal submissions to President Zuma motivating for immediate dismissal‚ in terms of section 207(1) of the Constitution‚ because it was “crystal clear that she is not at all a fit and proper person to be the National Police Commissioner and has overseen the sharp decline of the police service”.“Indeed Phiyega’s tenure as NPC has been marred by incompetence and misconduct including: • Throughout the Marikana crisis she showed her lack of knowledge of policing and failed to acknowledge the police’s responsibility in the death of 44 people‚ going as far as to say that they did not kill them. • No progress has been made in addressing police brutality; • She has failed to rectify the resourcing crisis in the SAPS; • No decisive action has been taken against SAPS members found to have criminal records; • She has failed to institute a court-ordered disciplinary into disgraced Crime Intelligence head‚ Richard Mdluli; • Under her watch Crime Intelligence has been driven into the ground; and most recently • She has failed to enact SAHRC recommendations that would have ensured the SAPS were pre-warned about the on-going Xenophobic attacks.“Commissioner Phiyega was hired because of her much vaunted managerial skills and on that basis she should be fired for her clear lack thereof. It is obvious that she lacks the managerial skills and political will to reform South Africa’s Police Service‚” Kohler Barnard stated. ..

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