Police watchdog accuses SAPS of frustrating investigations into dodgy cops

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has complained to Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts‚ saying the South African Police Service (SAPS) has frustrated the police watchdog’s quest to root out corrupt police officers.

Ipid said SAPS had put in place administrative hurdles that prevented it doing its work.

Ipid is currently dealing with several high-profile matters‚ including those of former acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane‚ Captain Morris "KGB" Tshabalala and General Agnes Makhele.

Ipid head of investigations Matthew Sesoko said on Tuesday that high-profile police are often accused of include corruption‚ theft‚ money laundering‚ racketeering and defeating the ends of justice. However‚ he said Ipid continuously came up against SAPS classifying requested information‚ making it difficult for the police watchdog to access evidence.

He also complained of counter investigations by other police investigators‚ which he slammed as unconstitutional. These include allegations that Phahlane had a corrupt relationship with service providers CrimeTech and Kriminalistik‚ allegedly worth R96-million. Phahlane was also said to have a corrupt relationship with the company FDA‚ owned by Keith Keating‚ that amounted to R5-billion.

Sesoko also gave details about the interactions between Tshabalala‚ Major-General Obed Nemutanzhela and a service provider for the crime intelligence division‚ valued at R563‚005.

"An Ipid investigation was able to uncover a further corrupt relationship of Phahlane and service provider FDA owned by Keith Keating. The investigation has detected possible crimes of corruption‚ fraud and money-laundering facilitated by car dealer‚ Mr Durand Snyman‚" said Sesoko.

He said this information came as a result of a raid conducted on Phahlane’s house and his cars late last year‚ with claims of seven construction workers paid in excess of R1-million from the boot of Phahlane’s car being supported by six cash withdrawals from CrimeTech and Kriminalistik’s accounts between March and October of 2011.

Sesoko said Keating‚ the supplier of Rofin lights‚ paid Snyman with the money being used to pay for vehicles given to another police colonel and Phahlane’s wife.