Elite crime-fighting unit the Hawks appears to be cleaning house in an attempt to root out internal corruption. The Limpopo Hawks commander who appeared yesterday in court on travel and medical aid fraud charges is one of a string of graft cases against senior members of the unit.Major-General Dibero Molatjana appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria after a two-year investigation of her alleged abuse of state resources.Her son was allegedly transported weekly in a police vehicle between the family's home in Polokwane and Pretoria to attend college. Molatjana allegedly claimed mileage for her private vehicle and used a state vehicle to attend a wedding in Thohoyandou, apparently stopping at a Hawks office to legitimise the vehicle's use.The Hawks commander is accused of registering a relative who had had a stroke on her secretary's medical aid, which led to the scheme paying out more than R300000 in claims.Other Hawks officials under investigation for fraud, corruption and other crimes include Mpumalanga Hawks boss Major-General Simon Mapyane; Durban-based Hawks officer Brigadier Simon Madonsela; former Mpumalanga Hawks captain Welcome Gcabashe; and Gauteng Hawks head Major-General Shadrack Sibiya (currently in court over the alleged rendition of Zimbabwe political dissidents, several of whom were murdered).Gareth Newham, of the Institute for Security Studies, said though it was worrying that so many senior officials within an elite anti-corruption unit were being arrested, it was also welcome."It shows steps are being taken to strengthen internal integrity and that police are taking action against their own."The moves will be even more welcome if they lead to successful convictions, because it means the integrity systems are working."What needs addressing are recruitment and vetting procedures. The police cannot just rely on integrity systems, they must appoint people of integrity."When you have senior management, including the national police commissioner and her staff, with integrity question marks hanging over them, that undermines any anti-corruption system."Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said Molatjana, who had been suspended, would appear in court again in August...