Former Crime Intelligence official Pilasande Dotyeni has made explosive revelations regarding the alleged systemic rot within the division during the tenure of its former head, Richard Mdluli.
Dotyeni appeared before parliament’s ad hoc committee on Tuesday. His testimony is part of a series of public submissions aimed at assisting the committee’s investigation into allegations of corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system.
These investigations were sparked by claims made last year by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Mkhwanazi alleged that the late former police minister Nathi Mthethwa exerted “intense pressure” on him to withdraw criminal charges and disciplinary action against Mdluli, describing it as the “worst political interference” he had ever experienced.
Dotyeni detailed his experiences at Crime Intelligence in 2009, five years into his tenure with the South African Police Service.
“In 2009, when I was beginning to find my feet in the provincial office, Mdluli was appointed as the divisional commissioner,” Dotyeni testified.
What I experienced was not people being promoted on their ability to fight crime, but on their loyalty to the divisional commissioner
— Pilasande Dotyeni
“I was a junior official, but you could immediately see the clashing between the head of national intelligence and the Eastern Cape provincial head, Lt-Gen Sindile Mfazi.”
Dotyeni described the conflict between the two “giants” as more than just a bureaucratic spat. He alleged that while the media may have recorded the dispute as a simple disagreement over state assets such as vehicles or laptops, the reality was the “sabotage of various provincial functions”.
Dotyeni alleged that Mdluli played a central role in dismantling the effectiveness of Crime Intelligence.
He further claimed that after Mdluli’s appointment, Lt-Gen Mfazi was suspended for the alleged misuse of state resources. Dotyeni testified that he was approached by a senior official and promised a promotion if he agreed to give false testimony against Mfazi.
Furthermore, while officially reported as a death due to Covid-19 in 2021, Dotyeni suggested a more sinister end for Mfazi. He alleged that the general was covertly assassinated after uncovering high-level corruption.
“In our final encrypted conversation just days before his death, General Mfazi confided in me that he had unearthed a complex web of corruption centred on emergency procurement tenders — specifically PPE contracts valued at over R1.6bn — being channeled through irregular mechanisms, including the Crime Intelligence secret service account,” Dotyeni told the committee.
The testimony took a personal turn when Dotyeni accused Mdluli of using his position to benefit those close to him, specifically alleging that Mdluli promoted his “girlfriend” at the time.
“Mdluli promoted his girlfriend in the Eastern Cape; he made her a captain. It’s not a secret,” Dotyeni claimed. “I have forgotten the lady’s name, but it was not something that was hidden.”
Dotyeni explained that he voluntarily left Crime Intelligence in 2012 after witnessing enough to convince him that the institution had lost its way.
He argued that promotions were based on personal loyalty to Mdluli rather than professional merit.
“I myself was on track to become a colonel, but because I refused to give false evidence, they decided I would not get it,” he said.
“What I experienced was not people being promoted on their ability to fight crime, but on their loyalty to the divisional commissioner.”
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