Ipid's investigation 'able to flow' since Khomotso Phahlane's suspension

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) investigation into former acting police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane has been “able to flow” since his suspension.

Ipid's national head of investigations‚ Matthews Sesoko‚ spoke at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria on Tuesday at an event on corruption in the police.

He said: “Since Phahlane was removed‚ we find that the investigation was able to flow. We are able to get information from the police which before we could not get.”

Sesoko refused to elaborate on the investigation.

Phahlane was removed as the acting national police commissioner in June this year after complaints of impropriety and corruption by forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan.

Ipid is investigating allegations of corruption and money laundering‚ which involve Phahlane’s purchase of an R80‚000 sound system for his home‚ from a South African Police Service supplier.

The head of the police’s Integrity Management Brigadier Hercules Wasserman said they were established on November 1 2016 to fight corruption within the police. The police’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) was disbanded in 2003.

According to the police’s 2015/16 annual report 1‚057 cases of corruption and fraud were investigated against police members. This decreased from about 4‚000 in 2000 despite the police force increasing from about 100‚000 members to about 152‚000 members.

Senior ISS researcher Johan Burger said: “It doesn’t make sense and I think it didn’t make sense to the police themselves.”

Wasserman said increasing the salaries of police officers would not decrease corruption.

“Why did it then happen that we investigated people who are earning up to R3 million per year for tender fraud of millions?

“You will get a security guard that earns R2‚500 per month‚ but he will protect the smallest little asset in the office that he needs to protect with integrity.”

Wasserman believes their biggest challenges are self-entitlement‚ greed and living beyond their means.

“To drive luxury vehicles when they cannot afford luxury vehicles‚ [they are] putting themselves in a predicament. The bank approves it‚ but in the middle of the month‚ they are cash-strapped.”

Former head of the police’s ACU Stefan Grobler said it was a misperception that “useless” police officers are corrupt.

“A useless policeman is useless. He can’t do his job properly. In many cases‚ a good policeman may be subject to corruption. That is the person being targeted to do either or not to do.”