High-ranking police officers are to face investigation by the Hawks and internal disciplinary action after they stormed a multimillion-rand coal mine in the small town of Dirkiesdorp in Mpumalanga last year.
This follows a high-level police probe sanctioned by national police commissioner Fannie Masemola into allegations of abuse of power after heavily armed police seized mining equipment and closed off operations of Green Lands Investments without any warrants or court orders late last year.
The probe was launched after attorney Jaco Kruger, acting for Green Lands Investments, wrote to the Madlanga commission of inquiry last year alleging unlawful actions by the SAPS and department of mineral resources & energy (DMRE) officials at the Dirkiesdorp site. The complaint was then referred to Masemola’s office.
The investigation concluded that the allegations of abuse of authority, spoliation and dereliction of statutory duty were founded against several high-ranking officers and that some should be investigated by the Hawks.
The relationship between Capt [Itumeleng] Phakedi and the Kubeka Group, which saw Mr Kubeka and Mr De Witt sourcing and paying for the towing of seized mine equipment during the warrantless search and seizure operation is concerning and demands further probing by SAPS specialised investigating units such as the Anti-Corruption Unit or the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations [DPCI].
— Report
“The relationship between Capt [Itumeleng] Phakedi and the Kubeka Group, which saw Mr Kubeka and Mr De Witt sourcing and paying for the towing of seized mine equipment during the warrantless search and seizure operation is concerning and demands further probing by SAPS specialised investigating units such as the Anti-Corruption Unit or the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations [DPCI],” reads the report.
Phakedi led the raid on the mine on October 24, removing heavy equipment and trucks. He only sought a warrant for the raid three days later. In a video of the raid, Phakedi can be heard discussing who the rightful owners of the mine are and saying he is there to assist Stanley Mphahlele, a co-director with Johan de Witt of Mamokebe Colliery, to stop mining activities.
He said at the time the shutdown had been ordered by the DMRE, but the department has denied this.
In towing away more mining equipment on October 27, police used the services of a company that was paid R76,000 by Mamokebe Colliery.
Mamokebe Colliery, which is backed by the Khubeka Group, is locked in a civil dispute with Mamokebe Investments over the rightful ownership of the mine.
Mphahlele, of Mamokebe Colliery, is at the heart of the dispute. He alleges his mining rights were hijacked by Mamokebe Investments, the company under which Green Lands Investments is operating the Dirkiesdorp coal mine.
Witnesses said about 20 vehicles carrying heavily armed police, led by Phakedi and assisted by Brig Zanele Mavuso of Ermelo visible policing, arrived at the mine, which exports coal through Richards Bay. Mavuso was reportedly accompanied by Lt-Col Jerome Cele from the public order police unit in Secunda.
“The activities conducted by members of SAPS under the leadership of Brig Cele in conjunction with Capt Phakedi ... at the Dirkiesdorp mine site exhibited some form of abuse of power, disregard for due processes and proved bias towards Green Land Investments and its contractors and warrants further investigation in terms of the SAPS disciplinary regulations 2016, as well as criminally by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate [Ipid],” reads the report into the conduct of the police.
According to the report, the SAPS’s legal services advised Phakedi to seek a search and seizure warrant but he ignored them. “[They] advised Capt Phakedi to save the SAPS from civil litigation and directed him to first obtain a search and seizure warrant to stop illegal mining operations … Once the warrant was issued by court, a further application would have to be made to the chairperson of the Natjoints to secure the necessary low beds from the SANDF to transport the seized mining equipment,” reads the report.
The Sunday Times reported last year how one of the allegedly illegal police raids on the mine resulted in two deaths after a vehicle drove into mining equipment that had been left on the road by police.
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