Category: Crime & Corruption News

Police Minister Bheki Cele, has commended the South African Police Service (SAPS) for a recent operation that led to the arrest of wanted dangerous suspects in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.

In a statement, the Ministry of Police said the suspects were arrests by police in KwaZulu-Natal. This as the police tighten the noose on criminals terrorising communities in Pietermaritzburg.

“Acting on information of the whereabouts of the gang, the SAPS team traced the suspects to a lodge situated on Woodhouse Road not far from where seven suspects were fatally wounded last week,” said the Ministry in a statement.

Four suspects aged between 18 and 30 were arrested, each found in possession of illegal pistols with rounds of ammunition.

The Ministry said the suspects are linked to a string of murder cases that were committed in the Pietermaritzburg, Imbali, Richmond, and Bergville areas as well as cases of robbery, rape and assault with the purpose to inflict grievous bodily harm.

The arrests come five days after seven suspects were shot and killed during a shootout with police while hiding in a suburban house in the city.

Cele in the statement said such breakthroughs are encouraging and restore hope to communities that have felt the wrath of the ruthless criminals.

“It is clear that if these intelligence driven operations are consistently executed and intensified, they will bring about stability to this area that has been terrorised by gangs and ultimately bring about peace to people living in the province. We are encouraged as the Police Ministry that these individuals involved in criminal acts are being hunted down and brought to book,” Cele concluded.

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, has called on law enforcement agencies to work around the clock to ensure that criminals involved in the murder of a senior citizen are brought to book.

Henrietta Nzimande, 78, was found murdered at her home in KwaDambuza, Pietermaritzburg last week.

Nzimande’s mutilated body was discovered by her daughter. It is believed that Nzimande, who lived alone, died from strangulation and some of her body parts were missing.

Condemning Nzimande’s murder, Khoza said the department is highly disappointed that senior citizens continue to be murdered like this.

“We want to ensure that perpetrators are found and are made to pay for their sins,” Khoza said.

It is also believed that Nzimande was murdered after being accused of witchcraft.

“These types of crimes in our province show that we have a lot of people who have lost their moral compass. There are vicious criminals that continue to murder our senior citizens and rob them of their belongings, including old age grants.

“Our people need to learn that if an old person resides alone it doesn’t mean that he or she is involved in witchcraft. We have many of our senior citizens who prefer to be alone in their homes or live by themselves because their relatives are working far away,” the MEC said.

Do not to turn a blind eye

The MEC appealed to the relatives and communities in general not to turn a blind eye if they see an old person staying alone, but to contact social workers in order to take care of the elderly.

“Leaving an old person alone at home makes them very vulnerable; hence we always encourage our communities to ensure that they inform us of such cases, in order to take them to safe places where they will receive 24-hour care.

“We have a lot of old age homes and they are made to protect our elderly people. We urge our communities to make use of these facilities in order to save the lives of our parents,” Khoza said.

She added that the department has full confidence in the police, and “we believe that the net will soon close in on the killers”.

The MEC sent her heartfelt condolences to Nzimande’s family and her neighbours.

A team of social workers has been dispatched to meet with the family to provide psychosocial support.

Eskom Group Chief Executive (GCE) André de Ruyter has been cleared of allegations of racism by an independent inquiry.

The inquiry, led by Advocate Ishmael Semenya, was established by the Eskom Board to probe a series of allegations made by Eskom’s former Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Solly Tshitangano, against De Ruyter.

The allegations included the abuse of power, racial discrimination, poor governance, irregular recruitment, irregular staff appointments, and unlawful procurement.

According to a statement released on Wednesday, Tshitangano even wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa about the Eskom GCE.

“Advocate Semenya reported that he interviewed witnesses and considered 1 107 pages of documents,” Eskom explained.

Tshitangano alleged that De Ruyter was guilty of racism and preferred a white company above another that is black-owned on racial grounds.

“Advocate Semenya reports that Mr Tshitangano denied making these allegations. Despite knowing that these allegations of racism were ‘wrong, egregious, false, baseless, and lacking any substantiation’ the CPO did not publicly deny them,” the statement read.

Semenya also found that there was no “substantiation” for alleging that the GCE has conducted himself in any manner that would amount to racist practice.

He also said there was no proof of poor governance on the part of the GCE or Eskom.

“Advocate Semenya found in regard to this allegation that, ‘nothing can be more bizarre’.”

On the allegations regarding recruitment, the report stated that the claims were “wild” and “highly irresponsible, particularly because it lacks any substantiation”.

This is after Tshitangano purported that the GCE was responsible for non-compliance with the Eskom internal recruitment processes and that the State-owned entity “tolerates a culture of corruption, nepotism, and patronage”.

De Ruyter was also cleared on claims that procurement processes were unlawful after he found the accusations to be without merit.

“I, accordingly, cannot find in Eskom, anyone guilty of any wrongdoing and would be making no recommendation to that effect,” Semenya added.

The Eskom Board has since considered Semenya’s report and said it had no hesitation in accepting it in its entirety.

“The board also noted that in a separate disciplinary hearing concerning poor performance chaired by Advocate Cassim SC, that Tshitangano had been found guilty and dismissed.”

A 39-year-old suspect is expected to appear in court soon after he was arrested on Wednesday for ferrying R400 million worth of cocaine on the N1 north.

The suspect, who was nabbed near the R21 Flying saucer interchange, was arrested by a multi-disciplinary team comprising of the South African Narcotic Enforcement Bureau (SANEB Head Office), Pretoria Serious Organised Crime, Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) of the Hawks with the assistance of Crime Intelligence Head Office.

In a statement, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) said: “It is alleged that a bakkie that was towing a 12-foot ski boat was stopped after information was received. Upon searching the boat the team found 800kg of compressed pure cocaine with an estimated street value of R400 million. Investigations are continuing and more arrests are imminent”.

National Hawks head Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Lebeya lauded the team, saying yesterday’s drug seizure had dealt a blow to these illegal activities.

“Let us not leave any stone unturned in addressing the proliferation of illegal drugs within the country,” he said.

A traffic officer has been sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, suspended for five years for accepting a bribe.

Isaac Clifford Lubisi was arrested in 2017 as part of Operation Siyabangena, which sought to address traffic officer corruption in Limpopo.

“Lubisi’s trial was lengthy and had many postponements but he was eventually found guilty and sentenced. He no longer qualifies to work as a traffic law enforcement officer and his registration will be cancelled,” the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Wednesday.

Lubisi was sentenced in the Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court.

Meanwhile, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court  has sentenced Olusey Babatunde Ajayi to a R10 000 fine or 12 months imprisonment with half of either sentence suspended for five years for operating as a bogus doctor.

“Ajayi was arrested as part of Operation Recall by the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit [NTACU] and the Health Professional Council of South Africa to address doctors who were irregularly issuing medical certificates to heavy motor vehicle drivers seeking to apply for professional driving permits. A total of 16 bogus doctors were arrested as part of that operation and 14 of them have been convicted,” the RTMC said.

Ajayi’s co-accused Adeniyi Adeyemi Ogunsula is expected to appear before the same court for the conclusion of his trial soon.

“The outcomes of these trials provides for further evidence that the work of our anti-corruption team is bearing fruit. We call on members of the public to assist by reporting suspicions of traffic related corruption to ntacu@rtmc.co.za or on WhatsApp line 0832937989,” the RTMC said.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on political killings in KwaZulu-Natal has reported a significant decline in the crime since 2016, says Police Minister Bheki Cele.

President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the IMC in 2018 in the wake of an escalation in politically related incidents in the province.

The IMC was made up of the Ministers of State Security, Defense, Justice and Correctional Services and Police.

Its mandate was to ensure that perpetrators were brought to book, and to put an end to political violence in the province.

In July of the same year, an integrated multi-disciplinary Task Team consisting of the South African Police Service (SAPS), the National Prosecuting Agency supported by the State Security Agency and Correctional Services was established.

Cele said the IMC at a recent meeting concluded that it was abundantly clear that the work of the Task Team had and continues to heed the President’s call of not allowing KwaZulu-Natal to become killing field.

The team achieved an 83% conviction rate.

“Since 2018, the Task Team has investigated 226 dockets in which 251 arrests have been made on politically related cases. Forty-six accused have been found guilty of which 30 were convicted for murder,” said the Minister on Wednesday.

Out of 34 murder cases, nine life sentences were handed down, while 22 accused have each been handed down 10 to 50-year sentences.

“Twelve accused have been convicted for no more than 10 years and the remainder, are going through the court processes.

“In addition, 69 case dockets unrelated to the Task Team’s mandate, were also considered for investigation by the Task Team. The reason for this is that these cases were somehow linked to politically related cases, either with similar suspects or through ballistics.”

Over and above the allocated and parallel politically related matters, the Task Team was conducting intelligence-driven operations targeting unlicensed firearms, which has resulted in 107 cases being investigated.

He said over 200 unlicensed firearms had since been confiscated and were now off the streets.

The Task Team has conducted firearms compliance inspections in over 25 security companies, municipal properties, a gun shop as well as a police station.

During these inspections, 2360 firearms were seized and sent for ballistic testing.

A total of 34 cases were opened and 41 suspects were arrested and charged in terms of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 and according to Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) regulations.

Cele said it remains a concerning factor of the involvement of law enforcement agencies. In this regard, 16 SAPS officers have been arrested for their links in politically related crimes. The involvement of other law enforcement officials is also being closely looked into.

Progress made

He said the IMC was happy with the progress made by the Task Team.

“This progress is as a result of the intergrated approach of the multi-disciplinary Task Team which has helped to improve the peace and stability in KwaZulu-Natal.

“This team remains in place and its capacity will be further strengthened through added resources,” he said.

“Currently the province is relatively calm in respect of political killings. We have seen a huge decrease in political murders.”

While 31 such murders were reported in 2016, this had plummeted to just four in 2021.

There were 20 killings in 2017, 12 in 2018 and 14 each in 2019 and 2020.

We are not in the clear yet, he said, adding that political intolerance through intimidation and extortion remains a cause for concern. This was especially as the country approached the 27 October local government elections.

“Interventions are in place to deal with this, proactively and reactively,” said the Minister.

North West Premier Professor Job Mokgoro has noted with grave concern the sporadic disruptions in some parts of Mahikeng which caused traffic delays and undue inconveniences to residents on Monday.

Mokgoro said he recognises that citizens have a right to protest but this has to be done within the confines of the law without infringing on the rights of the rest of the citizens.

The Premier said police are currently on the ground and are monitoring the situation on the R503 road (Mahikeng to Lichtenburg) in Dihatshwane village and N18 road (Mahikeng – Vryburg) near Kedirile Inn and Makhubung village, where protesters barricaded the roads with various objects.

“The police have since managed to disperse protestors at Dihatshwane village and opened the road where traffic is now flowing. In the Mahikeng / Vryburg road near Kedirile Inn, the road has also been opened, including at Makhubung village.

“Barricades are still visible on the road and motorists are urged to exercise caution and to cooperate with the law enforcement officials who are controlling traffic,” Mokgoro said.

Mokgoro urged members of the community not to panic, and to ignore messages doing the rounds on social media platforms inciting and encourage them to embark on what is termed “Total Shutdown of Mahikeng”.

The Premier has also called on protestors to utilise existing non-violent platforms to raise their concerns and refrain from barricading roads.

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) chief executive officer, Zolani Matthews has committed to addressing  vandalism and the general state of neglect and maintenance at the agency through various interventions.

These includes the appointment of dedicated bid committees to process the capital programme, appointment of panel of contractors who will be on call to ensure quick turnaround and recovery, whilst also strengthening the agency’s programme management unit to provide monitoring and oversight.

“The 2019 annual station condition assessment report showed that a total of 66 commuter stations across the country were in a poor condition, whilst the 2021 report reflects an increase of up to 250 stations that are now in a poor state due to escalated levels of theft and vandalism.

“Ninety-five of these stations are in the Gauteng south region, which includes the Soweto corridor. I mentioned the 2019 statistics precisely to highlight the great impact of COVID-19 which contributed immensely towards vandalism and theft of our assets,” Matthews said on Monday.

He made these remarks during the oversight visit attended by Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula at some of the vandalised PRASA stations in and around Johannesburg.

PRASA recovery plan

The chief executive said the work on the recovery plan as announced by the Minister during the Department of Transport’s 2021 budget vote has commenced.

“The contractors are on-site now to recover the vandalised substations on the Mabopane corridor. Importantly, these workers will also contribute towards job creation as we will be involving the communities,” he said.

In the short term, PRASA CRES (Corporate Real Estate Solutions) will also be sourcing alternative building technologies such as containers to open the stations and service commuters.

“Essentially, we cannot re-introduce our rail service if our stations are not fully operational to enable PRASA to collect the much needed revenue. We are planning in the next month, to re-introduce more rail services in line with the pronouncement made during the budget speech,” said the chief executive officer.

In addition to the current services on the operational lines in Gauteng, the agency will add the Daveyton – Germiston line.

Matthews said the agency has challenges around overhead traction energy, which has severely affected its services as it currently relies on locomotives, which are not ideal.

Infrastructure programme

PRASA has commenced with the infrastructure programme to rehabilitate what has been damaged and vandalised.

“Whilst the production of the new trains at Gibela is progressing well, the current rolling stock will still be in use and to this end, we have recently awarded an ad-hoc maintenance contract to ensure [that] in the short term, we recover trains that have been damaged and vandalised,” he said.

The chief executive officer has also established the “Isitimelasabantu” project office to oversee a focused programme on recovery and capex rollout plan to align to the needs of commuters and business.

“We have adopted a corridor-based approach targeting seven lines in Gauteng where we will offer services using electricity power instead of the current diesel service. PRASA’s capital programme will be implemented to ensure we address the challenges facing the business,” Matthews said.

He said the destruction of assets during the COVID-19 lockdown, which exposed the vulnerability of the network, has brought to the fore new risks that PRASA should manage.

“One of this risk is around security, and I am glad to update the Minister that whilst the challenges remain, we are making strides in reducing the security challenges through a number of measures implemented following the integrated security plan launched last year,” Matthews said.

PRASA has recruited an additional 3100 permanent security officials to supplement the current deployment in the security personnel.

PRASA is further working closely with Transnet, Eskom and Telkom on plans to push back the security challenges facing the businesses.

“We will soon be going to the market to invite contractors to build walls as part of protecting our network and also install with this the CCTV and vandal proof technologies.

“PRASA’s business intelligence, with the help of other law enforcement agencies and the South African Police Services, continue to work around the clock to curb this escalating criminal activity through random and continuous surveillance and monitoring of the scrap dealerships alongside Metrorail operational areas,” he said.

According to Matthews, these efforts are bearing positive results as a number of scrap metal dealership premises have been found in possession of PRASA stolen material.

PRASA continues to make gains in the fight against vandalism with a recent major bust of an illicit ring trading in the agency’s cables.

“We have successfully made arrests with the help of “tip-offs” from community members,” he said.

The South African Revenue Services has welcomed a two-year sentence the Bloemfontein Regional Court has handed to a tax practitioner charged with 24 non-compliance offences.

In a statement, the revenue collector said the suspect, Ritondeni Luvhengo, had tried to dodge his first court appearance but was later arrested. The sentence is suspended

Luvhungeo, who was arrested in September after failing to appear before court in July, faced 48 VAT offences. He also faced 24 charges for failing to disclose relevant material facts on the VAT 201 returns submitted to the SARS.

“The non-compliance offences were committed while Tax Practitioner Ritondeni Luvhengo was in charge of the tax affairs of a construction company,” SARS said in a statement.

The suspect was found to have submitted 24 nil VAT 201 returns to SARS without the consent of the client in order to obtain a Tax Clearance Certificate.

As a result, the accused was also charged with 24 counts for acting without the client’s consent and authority.

In the statement, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the revenue collector would not tolerate non-compliance by taxpayers and tax practitioners.

“In fact we hold practitioners to a higher standard, as important intermediaries in our quest towards voluntary compliance.

“Non-compliance not only reduces the revenue that SARS is able to collect, but further erodes the culture of compliance. The reduced revenue collection means that basic services to the poor and vulnerable cannot be delivered, especially at a time of great need when COVID-19 still wreaks havoc on the economy,” he said.

“SARS continues to make it easy for taxpayers and practitioners to comply with their tax obligations and will continue to make it difficult and costly for those who wilfully do not comply.”

He added that tax practitioners held the trust of taxpayers when acting on their behalf and that this trust should never be broken. While the majority of tax practitioners act ethically and in the best interests of their clients, there are those practitioners who serve their own selfish ends.

The Commissioner said taxpayers should be extremely careful about whom they appoint as tax practitioners and should check the registration status of a practitioner on the SARS website www.sars.gov.za.

Police Minister Bheki Cele has ordered a thorough investigation into the police’s response to the Zandspruit vigilantism incident, that claimed that lives of eight alleged gang members.

The Minister made the call during a visit to the area on Saturday in the wake of the gruesome Gauteng incident.

Another person was severely injured in the incident which took place in the early hours of Wednesday.

During his community engagement at the weekend, Cele assured Zandspruit residents that their claims of the local police station not responding to their distress calls would be urgently investigated.

Accompanied Gauteng Community Safety MEC, Faith Mazibuko, Cele met with the provincial police management to get a full briefing about the killings and what progress has been made on the case.

In a statement, the Ministry said it also had an engagement with community leadership structures, to find out what could have led the community to take the law into their hands.

“This meeting saw representatives of the local CPF and other recognised community safety structures, expressing the residents policing and safety concerns. They also reported to the police Minister and the provincial police team that the Honeydew police station, which also serves the Zandspruit area, provides poor service to the community.

“They claim the local police are not only corrupt but at times ignore their policing needs. Some in the meeting believe the death of the eight youngsters who were severely assaulted and burnt, could have been avoided if police responded on time,” said the Ministry.

In his address to the community gathered at the local sports grounds, where the murders took place, Cele told residents that he is convinced the community of Zandspruit deserve improved service delivery.

He ordered an urgent probe into why the police response time was slow on the morning of the attacks and has called for heads to roll.

“There is no doubt police in this area have many challenges due to the ever increasing population size and poor living conditions that impede on crime fighting efforts.

“However, some of the problems faced by the police are self-made. It’s really disheartening to hear that calls were made to the police while the youngsters were still alive but yet police vans took hours to respond, so that’s why I have tasked the provincial Commissioner to get to the bottom of these claims and I expect answers in the coming days,” said the Minister.

A police task team has been put together to look at other identified problems within the station as well as relook at all cold cases that have been dragging on with little, to no conclusion.

Cele has committed to return to the area in less than a month’s time, to provide feedback to the residents on what has been done to improve the station’s performance and service delivery.