Prince Mokotedi of the Hawks skips out on lie detector pledge

20 December 2016 - 17:42 By TMG Digital
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Gauteng Hawks head Major-General Prince Mokotedi‚ who has made allegations of a political plot hatched to assassinate high-ranking policing and government officials‚ will not take a polygraph test at a television station's offices.

Mokotedi had accepted Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride’s challenge to do the test at eNCA. McBride invited him to prove the charges‚ saying there was no amount of smoke and mirrors that could change the truth.

In a statement on Tuesday‚ the Directorate for Priority Investigation (Hawks) said it has "decided not to partake in the polygraph test which was envisaged to take place on Wednesday".

"After seeking legal opinion‚ the DPCI was advised that Major General Prince Mokotedi's participation will not serve any legal purpose but could unsettle the network of sources and informers that has been cultivated as part of the ongoing investigations."

Major General Mokotedi opened a case implicating senior public officials and organisations are implicated.

"He committed to participate in the public polygraph test to prove that he had no ill intentions as some of the implicated persons have suggested‚" the Hawks statement said. "The investigation has gained traction and sworn statements have already been taken from witnesses. Accordingly‚ all the issues that the implicated persons wished to address through Major General Mokotedi's participation in the polygraph test can be ventilated properly through the open courts of law.

"It will be in the interest of Justice that the implicated persons should be given a chance to respond to the allegations through the courts rather than through the media. We respect the public's interest in the matter but equally hold that the law should take its course."

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