Policeman accused in Sunday Times bugging case 'lying' in court

Former crime intelligence officer Bongani Cele‚ accused of falsifying information in order to spy on the cellphones of two Sunday Times journalists‚ has been accused of lying by a witness in his trial.

Police investigator Major-General Charles Johnson‚ who was called to the stand to testify in a trial-within-a-trial‚ said on Friday that Cele was lying about a statement he made to him.

Cele‚ 49‚ is on trial in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria facing two charges relating to contravening the Regulation of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA).

He has pleaded not guilty.

While working at the police Crime Intelligence unit in Durban‚ Cele allegedly lied to a judge in order to get an interception warrant by matching two journalists’ phone numbers with fictional names in an affidavit and suggesting that the warrant was required to probe a criminal case.

The journalists whose phones were allegedly monitored by Cele are investigative journalists Mzilikazi wa Afrika and Stephan Hofstatter.

Cele made admissions in court but is in dispute with the state relating to a statement he allegedly made to Johnson which has led to a trial-within-a-trial.

Johnson testified that he had investigated the interception order‚ allegedly applied for with “fake” names by Cele and his colleagues.

He said former national police commissioner Bheki Cele's number‚ but not his name‚ was also on the application for the order.

Johnson said he met with Cele and his colleagues at a Durban hotel where they gave him statements confirming previous statements they had made about their involvement with the application for the warrants.

Cele's lawyer Zwelabantu Buthelezi said that his client will testify that Johnson did not give them the previous statements to read. As a result they thought they were confirming the contents of statements relating to suspension notices‚ and not the warrants‚ he said.

Johnson said‚ “that is a lie”. He said the officers read their previous statements and the statements they made that day in the presence of a lawyer.

The case was postponed to September 12 for further trial.