Recommendations against the key actors in the Richard Mdluli fraud case have gone unheeded.
The report of an inquiry by retired Constitutional Court Justice Zak Yacoob into the turmoil at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has made damning findings against former acting prosecutions head Nomgcobo Jiba and her key ally, specialised commercial crimes unit head Lawrence Mrwebi.
The report, sent to President Jacob Zuma in October, confirms previous criticism by the courts about Jiba and Mrwebi’s role in the decision to withdraw fraud and corruption charges against suspended crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
Until this week Zuma had failed to respond to the Yacoob report’s recommendations (that Mrwebi should be suspended and an inquiry set up into improprieties at the NPA), reinforcing perceptions that Zuma is protecting his allies in the prosecution service.
On Thursday, after three months of increasing drama and infighting, the presidency announced that Zuma had established an inquiry into the NPA. But that enquiry will not follow the lines recommended by Yacoob. Instead it will deal with the fitness of Mxolisi Nxasana to be the national director of the NPA.
The precise terms of reference for the inquiry are due to be gazetted this Friday, February 6.
The Yacoob report, which included an investigation by advocate Kenneth Manyage, was conducted at the request of Nxasana, the very national director who must now face a presidential inquiry.
Unlike the inquiry now to be instituted into Nxasana, the Yacoob report has no legal force, but strengthens an earlier formal request by Nxasana to Zuma urging him to suspend Jiba and Mrwebi pending the investigation of their alleged perjury by lying under oath.
Both remain in office. NPA spokesperson Velekhaya Mgobhozi confirmed that Zuma, who alone has the power to suspend prosecutors at this level, has never responded to the request.
Jiba and Mrwebi declined to co-operate with Yacoob’s inquiry and Jiba questioned its mandate and lawfulness.
The NPA confirmed last week that the acting head of the Hawks, Major General Berning Ntlemeza, has requested the return of the perjury dockets of Jiba, Mrwebi and Sibongile Mzinyathi, another senior prosecutor accused of altering his evidence in the Mdluli matter.
Ntlemeza’s spokesperson has denied he personally intervened to retrieve the docket, saying “he has the right to ask for progress on any matter”.
The move blocks any formal decision by the NPA on whether to prosecute the trio.
Nxasana inquiry
The inquiry into the fitness of Nxasana comes hard on the heels of the suspension of Hawks commander Anwa Dramat, and what critics see as a political purge at the South African Revenue Service. The move appears to support the view that Zuma is moving against his perceived opponents across a broad front.
The inquiry into Nxasana was first announced more than six months ago, but appeared to have been suspended pending negotiations between Zuma and Nxasana.
Its formalisation now signals a new phase in the increasingly dirty infighting at the NPA. Two independent sources familiar with the matter told amaBhungane that Jiba and Mrwebi were the key stumbling blocks to a settlement between the president and the head of the NPA.
One said: “Nxasana wrote to Zuma and offered to go if Jiba and Mrwebi were removed. He told the president: ‘If they are out, I will go immediately.’
“I suspect he has not changed his position, which is why the president is now proceeding against him.”
Zuma first announced an inquiry into Nxasana in July last year after it emerged he was denied security clearance, purportedly because he did not disclose that he had killed a man at the age of 18.
Nxasana said he was acquitted of the 1985 murder and insisted the revelations about his past were part of factional machinations by his NPA rivals and politicians out to get rid of him.
Until Thursday’s announcement, Zuma had not announced the inquiry’s terms of reference and, following an urgent court application by Nxasana, did not suspend him.
Long shadow
The emergence of the Yacoob report has underscored the central role of the Mdluli saga in the battle for control of the NPA.
It reserves most of its criticism for Mrwebi, a special director appointed by Zuma to head the specialised commercial crime unit in the office of the national director.
The report notes that even before his appointment was gazetted in November 2011, Mrwebi had received hand-delivered representations from Mdluli’s lawyers.
Mdluli had been charged for alleged kickbacks he received in relation to vehicles bought using the crime intelligence division’s secret fund.
The charges emerged from a broader Hawks investigation of abuses of the fund and was under the direction of Pretoria commercial crimes unit boss Glynnis Breytenbach and her divisional director, Mzinyathi.
At the time Mdluli was also fending off a Hawks reinvestigation of murder relating to the unsolved 1999 killing of Mdluli’s former love rival, Oupa Ramogibe.
Mrwebi’s move
Following the representations on the corruption case, Mrwebi determined that the matter could only be investigated by the inspector general of intelligence – despite the latter disputing this interpretation – and instructed Breytenbach to withdraw the charges.
Along the way, Breytenbach appealed in vain to Jiba to review Mrwebi’s decision. She blamed her later suspension and protracted disciplinary battles with the NPA on her determination to prosecute Mdluli. She has since resigned and joined the Democratic Alliance.
In overruling Breytenbach and Mzinyathi, the Yacoob report finds that Mrwebi flouted legislation, stating that such decisions can only be taken “in consultation with” the divisional director.
At Breytenbach’s disciplinary hearing Mzinyathi gave evidence that he had disagreed with Mrwebi’s decision to withdraw charges against Mdluli.
However, when lobby group Freedom Under Law challenged decisions to withdraw murder and corruption charges against Mdluli, Mzinyathi provided an affidavit that appeared to suggest he had agreed with Mrwebi. It is that shift that forms the basis of the perjury investigation against him.
Short shrift
The Yacoob report gives short shrift to these machinations.
“It is trite law that the phrase ‘in consultation with’ means with the concurrence of,” it says. “Yet Mrwebi, for reasons that are difficult to comprehend, chose either not to understand this or to ignore the provision and withdraw charges against Mdluli in circumstances where Mr Mzinyathi did not agree with this course.
“Mr Mrwebi’s evidence at Ms Breytenbach’s disciplinary inquiry is telling … He veered, with some instability, among three possibilities: there was substantial agreement, it was 50-50, or no agreement at all …
“His evidence at the disciplinary hearing left a great deal to be desired. He displayed much arrogance, contradicted himself repeatedly and, in material respects, demonstrated considerable lack of understanding of the law and of legal processes.
“In our view his evidence was certainly not becoming of a person holding the position of special director. He certainly did not come across as a man of credibility or integrity … In our view there are serious criticisms of Mr Mrwebi which must be acted upon.”
Yacoob on Mdluli
Turning to the Mdluli cases, the Yacoob report notes: “We are convinced, having looked at the dockets, that there was at the very least a prima facie case against Major General Mdluli on the fraud and corruption as well as the murder and related charges. The fact they were withdrawn … are both matters of grave concern.”
In a clear reference to the perjury allegations against Jiba, Mrwebi and Mzinyathi, the report noted: “In regard to certain criminal charges against senior NPA personnel: we confirm our view that there is a prima facie case in all of them.
“Mr Mrwebi has got a great deal to answer for … the courts have accused him, with justification, of not telling the truth, not being fully frank with the court …
“There is reason to believe he lied under oath and did not respect the court.
“Mzinyathi, too, lied under oath. Initially without qualification he stated that he had not agreed to the withdrawal of fraud and corruption charges. In his later affidavit he virtually (but not quite) said that he had agreed.
“Jiba said in the high court that she knew nothing about the withdrawal of these cases and the court found it difficult to believe her. We agree … we find it quite incredible that she did not know about these cases.”
Mrwebi told amaBhungane this week that it was the first time he had heard the allegations contained in the Yacoob report. “I have not seen that report, so I can’t comment on these allegations.”
Jiba said she could not comment on Yacoob’s findings because she had never seen the report and “I don’t even know under what mandate or legal prescripts Judge Yacoob acted”.
Asked why she refused to be interviewed by Yacoob, Jiba said: “I could not subject myself to something that is unlawful … you can’t just jump for people. People can’t just jump and say we are now investigating you. There are processes you have to follow.
“And in as much as people want to appear as if they are protecting the rule of law, the rule of law must then be applicable to everybody.”
Mzinyathi could not be reached for comment.
Source: mail & Guardian
Showing posts with label Lawrence Mrwebi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lawrence Mrwebi. Show all posts
Friday, February 6, 2015
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Criminal charges laid against senior NPA officials
Criminal charges have been laid against three National Prosecuting Authority senior officials, the prosecuting authority confirmed on Sunday.
“Yes, it is indeed correct,” NPA spokesperson Nathi Mncube said in reply to an SMS from Sapa. Former acting NPA head Nomgcobo Jiba, director of public prosecutions for north Gauteng Sibongile Mzinyathi and head of the NPA’s specialised commercial crimes unit Lawrence Mrwebi were facing charges of perjury.
City Press newspaper reported that the charges followed court findings made about the NPA’s leadership last year. This was after rights group Freedom Under Law successfully applied to overturn the dropping of criminal charges against former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
Mdluli is expected back in court on Monday reportedly on charges which included kidnapping, assault and intimidation. Mncube confirmed he was expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court but would not say on what charges. According to the newspaper, National Director of Public Prosecutions Mxolisi Nxasana has written to President Jacob Zuma asking him to suspend Jiba, Mrwebi and Mzinyathi, pending an inquiry into their fitness to hold office.
Nxasana himself could be facing suspension, pending an inquiry. This was after reports emerged that he had apparently not been given a security clearance for the job as NPA boss because of past brushes with the law. Earlier this week, the presidency said Zuma had notified Nxasana that he was considering suspending him with full pay. – Sapa
Source: Mail & Guardian
“Yes, it is indeed correct,” NPA spokesperson Nathi Mncube said in reply to an SMS from Sapa. Former acting NPA head Nomgcobo Jiba, director of public prosecutions for north Gauteng Sibongile Mzinyathi and head of the NPA’s specialised commercial crimes unit Lawrence Mrwebi were facing charges of perjury.
City Press newspaper reported that the charges followed court findings made about the NPA’s leadership last year. This was after rights group Freedom Under Law successfully applied to overturn the dropping of criminal charges against former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
Mdluli is expected back in court on Monday reportedly on charges which included kidnapping, assault and intimidation. Mncube confirmed he was expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court but would not say on what charges. According to the newspaper, National Director of Public Prosecutions Mxolisi Nxasana has written to President Jacob Zuma asking him to suspend Jiba, Mrwebi and Mzinyathi, pending an inquiry into their fitness to hold office.
Nxasana himself could be facing suspension, pending an inquiry. This was after reports emerged that he had apparently not been given a security clearance for the job as NPA boss because of past brushes with the law. Earlier this week, the presidency said Zuma had notified Nxasana that he was considering suspending him with full pay. – Sapa
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, October 18, 2013
New NPA boss Nxasana seeks clarity on Mdluli case
Mxolisi Nxasana says his decision to wait on an appeal court ruling to reinstate charges against Richard Mdluli is not a delaying tactic.
Several security checks are required before the Mail & Guardian meets the recently appointed national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), Mxolisi Nxasana, at the offices of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Pretoria this week.
Even our cellphones are locked up until we have finished the interview with the 45-year-old attorney who has what is probably one of the toughest jobs in crime-fighting and justice in South Africa.
Nxasana's Durban colleagues approached him about putting himself forward for the top job at the NPA and he agreed. The next step was an interview by a team from the presidency.
Nxasana, who was running his own legal practice, was in court in August, with a client on the stand, when his cellphone started vibrating. The news of his appointment that day changed his life dramatically.
His appointment was made after President Jacob Zuma was taken to court by the civil rights group the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, to force him to appoint a permanent NDPP.
It meant a rushed move and he and his wife, Amagugu Khanyile Nxasana, who is also an attorney and works for a mining company, are still busy settling their family in Gauteng.
Nxasana says he has prioritised the cases of suspended police crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli and NPA prosecutor, advocate Glynnis Breytenbach. Breytenbach, now back at work downstairs in the sprawling NPA offices, still maintains that she was suspended and charged to stop her from proceeding with a fraud case against Mdluli.
Cool-headed attorney
Shortly after his appointment Nxasana informed Parliament that he had launched an application for leave to appeal a Pretoria High Court judgment ordering the reinstatement of criminal charges against Mdluli.
As a result, he soon went from "hero to villain", according to some news reports. The cool-headed attorney says he was not given a chance to explain the rationale behind the move.
The nub of the NPA's court application, seen by the M&G, is that the courts should not interfere with the decisions of an independent prosecutor except in exceptional cases.
The damning judgment by Judge John Murphy was handed down after civil society organisation Freedom Under Law made an application to the Pretoria High Court asking it to overturn the decision by specialised commercial crimes unit head Lawrence Mrwebi to drop the charges against Mdluli.
In his judgment, Murphy ordered the immediate reinstatement of corruption and murder charges against Mdluli.
"We just want the higher courts to give guidance because this is a first judgment of its kind," says Nxasana emphatically.
"If I want to reinstate the charges against Mdluli, I can. Nobody should view the decision as a delaying tactic. I owe nothing to Mdluli and I haven't even met him. I owe the NPA and the people of South Africa, and no one else.
"I am hoping that Judge Murphy will grant us leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal."
Spy tapes
Nxasana says he is yet to meet Zuma himself and also insists that his cannot be considered a political appointment.
When asked whether he would take up the case of former acting NPA head Nomgcobo Jiba, who came under fire for apparently refusing to hand over the controversial "spy tapes" that let Zuma off the hook, Nxasana says he is not yet aware of what is on the tapes.
"If I feel that there is prima facie evidence that will ultimately warrant prosecution I can tell you my duty, my responsibility, will be mandated by the Constitution, regardless of who appointed me," he says.
"Without putting a name to any person, if a crime is committed and there is admissable and credible evidence, my team will come to a conclusion. It doesn't matter what position a person holds. Even if it is President Zuma, or whoever it is."
Mention his former mentor and close friend, the late attorney Mvuseni Ngubane, and Nxasana's face immediately lights up.
"Whenever I think about him I know he was going to be first person to be proud of my appointment," he says. "I was his candidate attorney, his product. We went on to become very good friends. He had faith in me. So I did look up to him."
Unclear
Nxasana's reflections on Ngubane are tinged with sadness.
"Mvuseni was my mentor. I wish he were around. He would be able to say: 'You are what you are because of me.'
"As an officer of the court he was a very principled man, who held the value and ethos of the profession in very high esteem. He wouldn't do anything to compromise his profession, and he instilled this in me."
Ngubane was found dead in the back of his Mercedes-Benz in his garage in Durban in 2012, in what was described as a suspected suicide.
The attorney had been appointed to the key position of secretary of the Arms Procurement Commission and would have controlled all the evidence gathered by the inquiry, which is now under way.
To this day, it is unclear why he decided to take his life, says Nxasana.
Regularly detained
"It was suicide. I was glad that I was among the first persons to arrive at the scene and to witness what had happened myself and to see where he was sitting with the firearm. It was just next to him," says Nxasana, who wants to dispel any rumours that his friend's death might not have been a suicide.
"This was captured on the CCTV monitor, which was viewed, and there was absolutely no foul play."
After his appointment Nxasana relinquished his post as chairperson of the Durban branch of the Black Lawyers' Association, a position Ngubane had held until his death.
Nxasana, who is little known outside of KwaZulu-Natal, says he owes his fighting spirit to many people, including his father, Bhakisisa Harold Nxasana, who was a trade unionist in the clothing industry.
The older Nxasana, he says, was regularly detained by police at the family's home in Umlazi. On his release the house would be filled with inspiring visitors like anti-apartheid lawyer Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge and political activist Rick Turner, both of whom were later assassinated, allegedly by apartheid security forces.
His mother, Toti Clotilda Nxasana, a teacher, mostly raised the family single-handedly, sometimes with financial help from his father's prominent friends.
The Richard Mdluli saga
In early 2011 the police's suspended crime intelligence head, Richard Mdluli, was arrested and charged with various crimes, including murder, intimidation, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
Later the same year he was arrested again and charged with further counts of fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering. This was after he was sensationally accused of looting the police secret service account for his personal benefit.
The charges against him were withdrawn, but the Pretoria High Court ruled recently that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should reinstate the charges. The NPA has launched an urgent application for leave to appeal that judgment.
Last month the police's specialist unit, the Hawks, laid a criminal charge against the NPA's specialised commercial crimes unit head, Lawrence Mrwebi, for defeating the ends of justice by dropping the corruption charges against Mdluli. – Glynnis Underhill
Source: Mail & Guardian
Several security checks are required before the Mail & Guardian meets the recently appointed national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), Mxolisi Nxasana, at the offices of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Pretoria this week.
Even our cellphones are locked up until we have finished the interview with the 45-year-old attorney who has what is probably one of the toughest jobs in crime-fighting and justice in South Africa.
Nxasana's Durban colleagues approached him about putting himself forward for the top job at the NPA and he agreed. The next step was an interview by a team from the presidency.
Nxasana, who was running his own legal practice, was in court in August, with a client on the stand, when his cellphone started vibrating. The news of his appointment that day changed his life dramatically.
His appointment was made after President Jacob Zuma was taken to court by the civil rights group the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, to force him to appoint a permanent NDPP.
It meant a rushed move and he and his wife, Amagugu Khanyile Nxasana, who is also an attorney and works for a mining company, are still busy settling their family in Gauteng.
Nxasana says he has prioritised the cases of suspended police crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli and NPA prosecutor, advocate Glynnis Breytenbach. Breytenbach, now back at work downstairs in the sprawling NPA offices, still maintains that she was suspended and charged to stop her from proceeding with a fraud case against Mdluli.
Cool-headed attorney
Shortly after his appointment Nxasana informed Parliament that he had launched an application for leave to appeal a Pretoria High Court judgment ordering the reinstatement of criminal charges against Mdluli.
As a result, he soon went from "hero to villain", according to some news reports. The cool-headed attorney says he was not given a chance to explain the rationale behind the move.
The nub of the NPA's court application, seen by the M&G, is that the courts should not interfere with the decisions of an independent prosecutor except in exceptional cases.
The damning judgment by Judge John Murphy was handed down after civil society organisation Freedom Under Law made an application to the Pretoria High Court asking it to overturn the decision by specialised commercial crimes unit head Lawrence Mrwebi to drop the charges against Mdluli.
In his judgment, Murphy ordered the immediate reinstatement of corruption and murder charges against Mdluli.
"We just want the higher courts to give guidance because this is a first judgment of its kind," says Nxasana emphatically.
"If I want to reinstate the charges against Mdluli, I can. Nobody should view the decision as a delaying tactic. I owe nothing to Mdluli and I haven't even met him. I owe the NPA and the people of South Africa, and no one else.
"I am hoping that Judge Murphy will grant us leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal."
Spy tapes
Nxasana says he is yet to meet Zuma himself and also insists that his cannot be considered a political appointment.
When asked whether he would take up the case of former acting NPA head Nomgcobo Jiba, who came under fire for apparently refusing to hand over the controversial "spy tapes" that let Zuma off the hook, Nxasana says he is not yet aware of what is on the tapes.
"If I feel that there is prima facie evidence that will ultimately warrant prosecution I can tell you my duty, my responsibility, will be mandated by the Constitution, regardless of who appointed me," he says.
"Without putting a name to any person, if a crime is committed and there is admissable and credible evidence, my team will come to a conclusion. It doesn't matter what position a person holds. Even if it is President Zuma, or whoever it is."
Mention his former mentor and close friend, the late attorney Mvuseni Ngubane, and Nxasana's face immediately lights up.
"Whenever I think about him I know he was going to be first person to be proud of my appointment," he says. "I was his candidate attorney, his product. We went on to become very good friends. He had faith in me. So I did look up to him."
Unclear
Nxasana's reflections on Ngubane are tinged with sadness.
"Mvuseni was my mentor. I wish he were around. He would be able to say: 'You are what you are because of me.'
"As an officer of the court he was a very principled man, who held the value and ethos of the profession in very high esteem. He wouldn't do anything to compromise his profession, and he instilled this in me."
Ngubane was found dead in the back of his Mercedes-Benz in his garage in Durban in 2012, in what was described as a suspected suicide.
The attorney had been appointed to the key position of secretary of the Arms Procurement Commission and would have controlled all the evidence gathered by the inquiry, which is now under way.
To this day, it is unclear why he decided to take his life, says Nxasana.
Regularly detained
"It was suicide. I was glad that I was among the first persons to arrive at the scene and to witness what had happened myself and to see where he was sitting with the firearm. It was just next to him," says Nxasana, who wants to dispel any rumours that his friend's death might not have been a suicide.
"This was captured on the CCTV monitor, which was viewed, and there was absolutely no foul play."
After his appointment Nxasana relinquished his post as chairperson of the Durban branch of the Black Lawyers' Association, a position Ngubane had held until his death.
Nxasana, who is little known outside of KwaZulu-Natal, says he owes his fighting spirit to many people, including his father, Bhakisisa Harold Nxasana, who was a trade unionist in the clothing industry.
The older Nxasana, he says, was regularly detained by police at the family's home in Umlazi. On his release the house would be filled with inspiring visitors like anti-apartheid lawyer Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge and political activist Rick Turner, both of whom were later assassinated, allegedly by apartheid security forces.
His mother, Toti Clotilda Nxasana, a teacher, mostly raised the family single-handedly, sometimes with financial help from his father's prominent friends.
The Richard Mdluli saga
In early 2011 the police's suspended crime intelligence head, Richard Mdluli, was arrested and charged with various crimes, including murder, intimidation, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
Later the same year he was arrested again and charged with further counts of fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering. This was after he was sensationally accused of looting the police secret service account for his personal benefit.
The charges against him were withdrawn, but the Pretoria High Court ruled recently that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should reinstate the charges. The NPA has launched an urgent application for leave to appeal that judgment.
Last month the police's specialist unit, the Hawks, laid a criminal charge against the NPA's specialised commercial crimes unit head, Lawrence Mrwebi, for defeating the ends of justice by dropping the corruption charges against Mdluli. – Glynnis Underhill
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, August 24, 2012
Politicking among police
Concerns over the politicisation of the criminal justice system were first raised over the Mbeki administration's investigation of Jacob Zuma.
Now, under a Zuma presidency, concern has congealed into dread as his appointments to the prosecution service have injected political poison into the state's most sensitive independent organs.
First came the appointment of the hopelessly compromised Menzi Simelane as national director of public prosecutions. Then came Willem Heath's return to the Special Investigating Unit. His political agenda was so transparent he blurted it out in the media and had to go.
Next was Lawrence Mrwebi, chosen to head the Specialised Commercial Crime unit. Mrwebi is a fallible man who had been deeply embroiled in efforts to shut down the Scorpions.
In December last year, when Simelane was beginning to test his leash, the Supreme Court of Appeal declared his appointment invalid, allowing Zuma to appoint a stand-in candidate arguably as deeply partial as Heath: Nomgcobo Jiba.
In 2007 Jiba was suspended for her role in trying to procure the arrest of then-Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel. Richard Mdluli came to her defence, alleging she had been assisting police with an intelligence-driven investigation of the Scorpions. The justice minister weighed in to query her case and after Zuma took power she was reinstated.
Intelligence
Since December last year, Jiba and Mrwebi have acted like a tag team to take on politically sensitive cases. In the Mdluli case, Mrwebi ordered the withdrawal of fraud charges, relying, in part, on undisclosed "intelligence".
Jiba followed that punch with the suspension of prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach, who wanted to pursue charges against Mdluli and was central to a politically sensitive investigation of alleged fraud in the acquisition of mining rights at Sishen. Next came the withdrawal of charges against Zuma backers and KwaZulu-Natal MECs Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni in the "amigos" corruption case.
Today we report on further damaging allegations of Mrwebi's meddling in a case whose implications are as yet obscure. All we know is the man Mrwebi allegedly tried to protect is someone whose business it was to know the dirty secrets of the National Prosecuting Authority's provincial office.
The poison is now at the heart of the system.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Now, under a Zuma presidency, concern has congealed into dread as his appointments to the prosecution service have injected political poison into the state's most sensitive independent organs.
First came the appointment of the hopelessly compromised Menzi Simelane as national director of public prosecutions. Then came Willem Heath's return to the Special Investigating Unit. His political agenda was so transparent he blurted it out in the media and had to go.
Next was Lawrence Mrwebi, chosen to head the Specialised Commercial Crime unit. Mrwebi is a fallible man who had been deeply embroiled in efforts to shut down the Scorpions.
In December last year, when Simelane was beginning to test his leash, the Supreme Court of Appeal declared his appointment invalid, allowing Zuma to appoint a stand-in candidate arguably as deeply partial as Heath: Nomgcobo Jiba.
In 2007 Jiba was suspended for her role in trying to procure the arrest of then-Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel. Richard Mdluli came to her defence, alleging she had been assisting police with an intelligence-driven investigation of the Scorpions. The justice minister weighed in to query her case and after Zuma took power she was reinstated.
Intelligence
Since December last year, Jiba and Mrwebi have acted like a tag team to take on politically sensitive cases. In the Mdluli case, Mrwebi ordered the withdrawal of fraud charges, relying, in part, on undisclosed "intelligence".
Jiba followed that punch with the suspension of prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach, who wanted to pursue charges against Mdluli and was central to a politically sensitive investigation of alleged fraud in the acquisition of mining rights at Sishen. Next came the withdrawal of charges against Zuma backers and KwaZulu-Natal MECs Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni in the "amigos" corruption case.
Today we report on further damaging allegations of Mrwebi's meddling in a case whose implications are as yet obscure. All we know is the man Mrwebi allegedly tried to protect is someone whose business it was to know the dirty secrets of the National Prosecuting Authority's provincial office.
The poison is now at the heart of the system.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Lawrence Mrwebi accused of interfering in staff fraud probe
Controversial National Prosecuting Authority strongman Lawrence Mrwebi is at the centre of new claims of trying to interfere with an investigation. Mrwebi, appointed late last year to head the NPA’s Specialised Commercial Crime unit, has accumulated a number of controversial interventions in politically charged cases. They include his instruction to withdraw charges against suspended crime intelligence supremo Richard Mdluli and his review of charges against KwaZulu-Natal provincial heavyweights Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni.
But the latest allegation is so serious that it is said to have been brought to the attention of the Hawks, although this could not be confirmed. And it is also much closer to home, involving current and former members of the NPA staff in corruption allegations that seem to have been kept buried for years.
The background
The case goes back to 2006 when the NPA advertised a tender for security at various NPA buildings around the country for an amount of R13-million. In a process that formed the basis of criminal charges against five men, the tender was awarded to an unknown KwaZulu-Natal security company, Intense Protection and Tourist Services, owned by KwaZulu-Natal businessperson Muziwandile Nala. By this time, the cost had increased to R19-million.
According to a summary of the evidence in the case, a key player in setting up the tender was the then acting head of the KwaZulu-Natal security and risk management unit of the NPA, Terence Joubert. Prior to the issuing of the tender, key members of its national security and risk management team travelled to Durban on official business.
The ‘coloured’ group
The group included its head, Walter “Wally” Rhoode, and the man who was later to serve as the chair of the bid evaluation committee, John Maree. Joubert, Rhoode and Maree formed part of what was later termed a “coloured” group that dominated the NPA’s security structures. During that visit, Joubert brought Nala after hours to the hotel in order to introduce him to the NPA delegation. Nala was later encouraged to bid for the tender and approached his former mentor, prominent Durban VIP protection specialist Andre van der Byl, to submit a joint bid because Nala had no capacity to meet the bid requirements.
According to the evidence summary, Nala approached Van der Byl with the claim that “through Terence Joubert … and other coloureds based at head office” he was “guaranteed” to win the tender.
The ‘scam’
The summary records that in the open tender no company met the minimum 60% score. Rhoode and the NPA’s head of supply chain management, Tebogo Sethabela, then recommended a closed tender through a request for bids from companies that had scored 40% or more. Inexplicably, Intense Protection was invited to bid again, although, according to the investigation, it had scored only 27% in the first round.
The instruction to invite Intense Protection was issued by both Maree and Sethabela, although they both allegedly knew the company did not qualify. It is alleged that Nala, Joubert and Van der Byl, who is a state witness, travelled to Pretoria for a briefing and that Nala handed over an envelope believed to contain R20 000 to Rhoode. Nala is alleged also to have gratified others in the syndicate, including Joubert, Maree and Sethabela.
The closed tender, under the chairmanship of Maree, disqualified the other two bidders and awarded the contract to Intense Protection. Van der Byl pulled out of the deal.
Joubert
Joubert occupies a highly sensitive position in the NPA’s Durban office and has wide internal access to information and involvement in internal investigations of NPA staff. It was this role that appears to have blown the lid on the alleged tender scam. Colleagues suspected that Joubert was being used by organised crime targets to disrupt their investigations by laying complaints against them, which Joubert would then investigate because of his risk management mandate.
It appears the NPA head office was, in turn, tipped off about an infraction by Joubert, who allegedly used a state vehicle for private travel to the Eastern Cape. The probe, by the Scorpions’s special national projects unit, was completed in August 2007 and is understood to have revealed the relationship between Nala and Joubert. Allegations and evidence against Joubert were handed to the NPA’s integrity management unit, led by Prince Mokotedi.
There the matter appears to have lain dormant until 2009 when, in May of that year, the Sowetan was tipped off about the Intense Protection contract. Following inquiries, the NPA announced that the matter had been referred to the police for investigation. Although no names of suspects were released, Rhoode, who had left the NPA to take over as head of security for the Fifa World Cup, unexpectedly resigned his position three months later.
Mokotedi
Mokotedi has since emerged as a key ally of Mrwebi and the acting national director of public prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba. Together with Jiba, he assisted Mdluli with the investigation into Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel, which led to Nel’s arrest just ahead of the charging of former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Jiba faced disciplinary charges because of her actions and both Mdluli and Mokotedi gave statements in her defence. Both Mokotedi and Mrwebi gave evidence for the defence in the Selebi trial.
Enter the Hawks
According to evidence by the prosecutor in court, police began seriously probing the Intense Protection case only in late 2011 when it was taken over by the Hawks. In early December 2011, Hawks investigator Colonel Frans Kola arrested Nala, Joubert, Maree, Rhoode and Sethabela for tender fraud. They were all released on bail and have indicated they believe the state does not have a case against them.
However, during Kola’s investigation, the police conducted a search and seizure operation on Joubert. It was at this stage that Mrwebi allegedly intervened.
Enter Mrwebi
According to an account provided to the Mail & Guardian, Mrwebi “stormed in” to the office of the prosecutor overseeing the case, advocate Nathi Mncube, and allegedly instructed him to halt the execution of the search warrant.
Mncube asked to know the basis of this instruction because, at the time, he did not report to Mrwebi.
Mrwebi, who knows Joubert well from his time as head of the Scorpions in KwaZulu-Natal, could not provide a satisfactory justification and Mncube refused his demand.
It is alleged that Mrwebi thereupon telephoned a police officer involved in the search and attempted to instruct him to call off the search. The officer also refused.
Mrwebi also instructed Mncube to hand over the investigation docket. Mncube refused.
Following Jiba’s appointment to act as national director of public prosecutions in the place of Menzi Simelane at the end of December 2011, she called for a briefing on cases that had been overseen by Simelane, which included the Intense Protection matter.
Mncube was reluctant to brief Jiba in the presence of Mrwebi because of his previous interference, but she insisted.
Following the briefing, she confirmed that he must report to Mrwebi on this matter.
NPA response
The NPA declined to deal with the allegations of interference.
NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said in an email response: “As a matter of principle, we will not be drawn into responding to gossip-mongering and clandestine media leaks by faceless internal sources. Doing so will be legitimising clearly unethical behaviour by employees with anti-establishment agendas.”
On May 28, Mncube was provisionally forced to withdraw charges when the magistrate in the Pretoria Regional Court refused to grant another postponement for further investigation.
Mncube complained that part of the delay was owing to the investigator, Kola, having been removed from the case and the fact, since March, that two new officers had to be briefed.
The NPA said: “The investigations are on track and advocate Mncube will re-enrol the case as soon as the outstanding elements of the investigation are completed.”
Source: Mail & Guardian
But the latest allegation is so serious that it is said to have been brought to the attention of the Hawks, although this could not be confirmed. And it is also much closer to home, involving current and former members of the NPA staff in corruption allegations that seem to have been kept buried for years.
The background
The case goes back to 2006 when the NPA advertised a tender for security at various NPA buildings around the country for an amount of R13-million. In a process that formed the basis of criminal charges against five men, the tender was awarded to an unknown KwaZulu-Natal security company, Intense Protection and Tourist Services, owned by KwaZulu-Natal businessperson Muziwandile Nala. By this time, the cost had increased to R19-million.
According to a summary of the evidence in the case, a key player in setting up the tender was the then acting head of the KwaZulu-Natal security and risk management unit of the NPA, Terence Joubert. Prior to the issuing of the tender, key members of its national security and risk management team travelled to Durban on official business.
The ‘coloured’ group
The group included its head, Walter “Wally” Rhoode, and the man who was later to serve as the chair of the bid evaluation committee, John Maree. Joubert, Rhoode and Maree formed part of what was later termed a “coloured” group that dominated the NPA’s security structures. During that visit, Joubert brought Nala after hours to the hotel in order to introduce him to the NPA delegation. Nala was later encouraged to bid for the tender and approached his former mentor, prominent Durban VIP protection specialist Andre van der Byl, to submit a joint bid because Nala had no capacity to meet the bid requirements.
According to the evidence summary, Nala approached Van der Byl with the claim that “through Terence Joubert … and other coloureds based at head office” he was “guaranteed” to win the tender.
The ‘scam’
The summary records that in the open tender no company met the minimum 60% score. Rhoode and the NPA’s head of supply chain management, Tebogo Sethabela, then recommended a closed tender through a request for bids from companies that had scored 40% or more. Inexplicably, Intense Protection was invited to bid again, although, according to the investigation, it had scored only 27% in the first round.
The instruction to invite Intense Protection was issued by both Maree and Sethabela, although they both allegedly knew the company did not qualify. It is alleged that Nala, Joubert and Van der Byl, who is a state witness, travelled to Pretoria for a briefing and that Nala handed over an envelope believed to contain R20 000 to Rhoode. Nala is alleged also to have gratified others in the syndicate, including Joubert, Maree and Sethabela.
The closed tender, under the chairmanship of Maree, disqualified the other two bidders and awarded the contract to Intense Protection. Van der Byl pulled out of the deal.
Joubert
Joubert occupies a highly sensitive position in the NPA’s Durban office and has wide internal access to information and involvement in internal investigations of NPA staff. It was this role that appears to have blown the lid on the alleged tender scam. Colleagues suspected that Joubert was being used by organised crime targets to disrupt their investigations by laying complaints against them, which Joubert would then investigate because of his risk management mandate.
It appears the NPA head office was, in turn, tipped off about an infraction by Joubert, who allegedly used a state vehicle for private travel to the Eastern Cape. The probe, by the Scorpions’s special national projects unit, was completed in August 2007 and is understood to have revealed the relationship between Nala and Joubert. Allegations and evidence against Joubert were handed to the NPA’s integrity management unit, led by Prince Mokotedi.
There the matter appears to have lain dormant until 2009 when, in May of that year, the Sowetan was tipped off about the Intense Protection contract. Following inquiries, the NPA announced that the matter had been referred to the police for investigation. Although no names of suspects were released, Rhoode, who had left the NPA to take over as head of security for the Fifa World Cup, unexpectedly resigned his position three months later.
Mokotedi
Mokotedi has since emerged as a key ally of Mrwebi and the acting national director of public prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba. Together with Jiba, he assisted Mdluli with the investigation into Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel, which led to Nel’s arrest just ahead of the charging of former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Jiba faced disciplinary charges because of her actions and both Mdluli and Mokotedi gave statements in her defence. Both Mokotedi and Mrwebi gave evidence for the defence in the Selebi trial.
Enter the Hawks
According to evidence by the prosecutor in court, police began seriously probing the Intense Protection case only in late 2011 when it was taken over by the Hawks. In early December 2011, Hawks investigator Colonel Frans Kola arrested Nala, Joubert, Maree, Rhoode and Sethabela for tender fraud. They were all released on bail and have indicated they believe the state does not have a case against them.
However, during Kola’s investigation, the police conducted a search and seizure operation on Joubert. It was at this stage that Mrwebi allegedly intervened.
Enter Mrwebi
According to an account provided to the Mail & Guardian, Mrwebi “stormed in” to the office of the prosecutor overseeing the case, advocate Nathi Mncube, and allegedly instructed him to halt the execution of the search warrant.
Mncube asked to know the basis of this instruction because, at the time, he did not report to Mrwebi.
Mrwebi, who knows Joubert well from his time as head of the Scorpions in KwaZulu-Natal, could not provide a satisfactory justification and Mncube refused his demand.
It is alleged that Mrwebi thereupon telephoned a police officer involved in the search and attempted to instruct him to call off the search. The officer also refused.
Mrwebi also instructed Mncube to hand over the investigation docket. Mncube refused.
Following Jiba’s appointment to act as national director of public prosecutions in the place of Menzi Simelane at the end of December 2011, she called for a briefing on cases that had been overseen by Simelane, which included the Intense Protection matter.
Mncube was reluctant to brief Jiba in the presence of Mrwebi because of his previous interference, but she insisted.
Following the briefing, she confirmed that he must report to Mrwebi on this matter.
NPA response
The NPA declined to deal with the allegations of interference.
NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said in an email response: “As a matter of principle, we will not be drawn into responding to gossip-mongering and clandestine media leaks by faceless internal sources. Doing so will be legitimising clearly unethical behaviour by employees with anti-establishment agendas.”
On May 28, Mncube was provisionally forced to withdraw charges when the magistrate in the Pretoria Regional Court refused to grant another postponement for further investigation.
Mncube complained that part of the delay was owing to the investigator, Kola, having been removed from the case and the fact, since March, that two new officers had to be briefed.
The NPA said: “The investigations are on track and advocate Mncube will re-enrol the case as soon as the outstanding elements of the investigation are completed.”
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, June 8, 2012
Mdluli meddling exposed in prosecutor's attack on NPA
Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach has launched a devastating attack on the acting national director of public prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba, accusing her of acting with “an ulterior purpose” in suspending her, allegedly to stop the prosecution of crime intelligence supremo Richard Mdluli. Breytenbach’s allegation forms part of a challenge to her suspension lodged a week ago with the Labour Court in Johannesburg.
Breytenbach was suspended by Jiba on April 30 this year, purportedly in relation to a complaint about her conduct in the prosecution of Imperial Crown Trading (ICT), the company accused of fraud and forgery in its battle to secure mineral rights over the giant Sishen iron ore mine. “Her [Jiba’s] real purpose was to stop me from prosecuting a senior police officer, Lieutenant General Richard Mdluli, on charges of fraud and corruption,” said Breytenbach. “She used the ICT complaint against me as an excuse to suspend me.”
The National Prosecuting Authority has denied that the disciplinary steps against Breytenbach have anything to do with the Mdluli matter. Breytenbach’s court papers deliver an indictment of the prosecuting authority’s two key decision-makers in the Mdluli matter – Jiba and advocate Lawrence Mrwebi – both appointees of President Jacob Zuma. Breytenbach’s application signals that judicial and public scrutiny of the Mdluli scandal will expand to the prosecuting authority, notably through allegations of improper decisions by Mrwebi, supported by Jiba, to withdraw charges against Mdluli. It comes in the week North Gauteng High Court Judge Ephraim Makgoba delivered a hammer blow to attempts to politically manage the police side of the Mdluli investigation. Makgoba granted an urgent application by lobby group Freedom Under Law for Mdluli to be interdicted from carrying out any functions as a police officer.
Mdluli will be barred from office pending a full judicial review of the various decisions to abandon corruption and murder charges against him, to terminate internal police disciplinary steps against him and to reinstate him as head of crime intelligence. Now Breytenbach’s application has added fuel to Freedom Under Law’s fire by providing a detailed account of the way in which Mrwebi and Jiba appeared to bend over backwards to protect Mdluli.
The Breytenbach documents reveal that:
The authority will oppose her application, but has yet to file its response.
The two interlinked cases – Freedom Under Law’s high court review and Breytenbach’s labour court challenge – threaten to expose direct political meddling in decisions about Mdluli.
Government may attempt to manage the fallout by appointing a new national commissioner and has already launched a ministerial task team in an apparent attempt to bolster Mdluli’s conspiracy claims, but the Mdluli tsunami seems unstoppable.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Breytenbach was suspended by Jiba on April 30 this year, purportedly in relation to a complaint about her conduct in the prosecution of Imperial Crown Trading (ICT), the company accused of fraud and forgery in its battle to secure mineral rights over the giant Sishen iron ore mine. “Her [Jiba’s] real purpose was to stop me from prosecuting a senior police officer, Lieutenant General Richard Mdluli, on charges of fraud and corruption,” said Breytenbach. “She used the ICT complaint against me as an excuse to suspend me.”
The National Prosecuting Authority has denied that the disciplinary steps against Breytenbach have anything to do with the Mdluli matter. Breytenbach’s court papers deliver an indictment of the prosecuting authority’s two key decision-makers in the Mdluli matter – Jiba and advocate Lawrence Mrwebi – both appointees of President Jacob Zuma. Breytenbach’s application signals that judicial and public scrutiny of the Mdluli scandal will expand to the prosecuting authority, notably through allegations of improper decisions by Mrwebi, supported by Jiba, to withdraw charges against Mdluli. It comes in the week North Gauteng High Court Judge Ephraim Makgoba delivered a hammer blow to attempts to politically manage the police side of the Mdluli investigation. Makgoba granted an urgent application by lobby group Freedom Under Law for Mdluli to be interdicted from carrying out any functions as a police officer.
Mdluli will be barred from office pending a full judicial review of the various decisions to abandon corruption and murder charges against him, to terminate internal police disciplinary steps against him and to reinstate him as head of crime intelligence. Now Breytenbach’s application has added fuel to Freedom Under Law’s fire by providing a detailed account of the way in which Mrwebi and Jiba appeared to bend over backwards to protect Mdluli.
The Breytenbach documents reveal that:
- The stated basis for Breytenbach’s suspension was that she had “abused her authority” in the ICT case. It was based on a complaint laid by ICT lawyer Ronnie Mendelow in a letter dated October 31 2011, but she was suspended only six months later, after she had come into critical conflict with Mrwebi and Jiba over the Mdluli prosecution.
- Mdluli’s attorneys delivered representations by hand to Mrwebi in his capacity as national head of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit on November 17 2011, although he had not yet been appointed to that post and was officially appointed only on November 25. Mrwebi forwarded the representations to Breytenbach on November 21, requesting a full report by the 25th.
- The representations were based largely on what Breytenbach dismisses as “wild and unsubstantiated allegations” of a conspiracy by the Hawks and police management to falsely implicate Mdluli in the 1999 murder of his former lover’s husband and subsequently to nail him for taking a personal benefit from cars purchased by the crime intelligence secret fund. The latter formed the basis of the corruption case Breytenbach intended to prosecute.
- Much of the evidence for this “conspiracy” is drawn from affidavits by three crime intelligence agents and Mdluli himself. They repeat what Colonel Ronnie Naidoo of crime intelligence told them at a meeting with Mdluli at the Emperors Palace casino on October 27 2011, while Mdluli was ostensibly suspended.
- Naidoo reported to Mdluli that Hawks boss General Anwa Dramat and senior generals Mzwandile Petros and Godfrey Lebeya had begged national commissioner Bheki Cele to dismiss Mdluli before Cele himself was suspended.
- It appears these same affidavits were attached to Mdluli’s November 3 letter to Zuma, in which he made the same conspiracy allegations.
- In overturning Breytenbach’s decision to prosecute Mdluli, Mrwebi claimed to have “consulted with” the North Gauteng director of public prosecutions, advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, as required by law, but this has been denied.
- Breytenbach alleged: “I later understood from advocate Mzinyathi that advocate Mrwebi had merely mentioned to him that he was considering the charges against General Mdluli and did not consult him on their withdrawal.”
- The sole reason Mrwebi advanced for his decision was that, in his view, the investigation of the corruption charges against Mdluli was the exclusive preserve of the inspector general of intelligence (IGI), an argument not contained in the representations from Mdluli’s lawyers.
- Breytenbach noted: “My understanding all along was that, contrary to advocate Mrwebi’s assertion, the IGI did not regard it as her function to undertake any criminal investigations. She confirmed as much in a letter to the acting national commissioner dated March 19.”
- In that letter, the inspector general stated: “The mandate of criminal investigations rests solely with the police. As such, we are of the opinion that the reasons advanced by the NPA in support of the withdrawal of the criminal charges are inaccurate and legally flawed.”
- When Breytenbach conveyed the inspector general’s letter to Mrwebi, his response was to demand to know why his confidential memorandum on the withdrawal of charges had been disclosed to the inspector general.
- In an extraordinary outburst, Mrwebi wrote back to Breytenbach: “The view of the IGI, following your solicitation of her opinion on the NPA decision on the matter, based on a document which the police or anybody else was not even legally entitled to possess, is for your consumption and does not affect the decision … That decision stands and this matter is closed.” Breytenbach commented: “This response ... was, with the greatest of respect, wholly irrational.”
- When Breytenbach and a colleague prepared a detailed appeal to Jiba to reconsider Mrwebi’s decision, it appears Jiba was content to let Mrwebi respond. That response makes it clear Mrwebi’s real reason was his acceptance of Mdluli’s conspiracy claims, relying on additional secret evidence.
- Mrwebi wrote: “Having been provided with further information on the matter and having been privy to other classified, confidential and high-level discussions with police management, I am concerned that our actions in the matter may be interpreted, justifiably, as amounting to serious abuse of the legal process and as being motivated by ulterior purposes. It is my considered view that it will therefore not be in the interests of justice for the NPA to be further involved in this matter.”
- Concluding that her suspension is unlawful, Breytenbach stated: “I submit that the ineluctable inference from the history of my suspension … is that its purpose is to remove me from office and so prevent me from proceeding with the prosecution of General Mdluli.”
The authority will oppose her application, but has yet to file its response.
The two interlinked cases – Freedom Under Law’s high court review and Breytenbach’s labour court challenge – threaten to expose direct political meddling in decisions about Mdluli.
Government may attempt to manage the fallout by appointing a new national commissioner and has already launched a ministerial task team in an apparent attempt to bolster Mdluli’s conspiracy claims, but the Mdluli tsunami seems unstoppable.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, March 30, 2012
Friends in high places rescue Mdluli
Former fraud and murder suspect Richard Mdluli is back in the top job at crime intelligence thanks to blatant interference by President Jacob Zuma's allies. And evidence suggests the president personally weighed in with moral support for their efforts to block the criminal investigation into the police spy boss. A secret report on the Mdluli investigation sets out in great detail the extent of the evidence against Mdluli.
The main charges against Mdluli concerned defrauding crime intelligence to buy two new BMWs for himself and his wife and appointing or promoting family members as highly paid agents. The wide-ranging allegations create a disturbing backdrop for the way in which Zuma and like-minded officials have intervened to support and protect Mdluli. Mdluli was last year investigated by the Hawks for abuses of the secret services account, the covert fund used to finance undercover crime intelligence operations. Prosecutors charged Mdluli, but advocate Lawrence Mrwebi, the man controversially appointed by Zuma to head the commercial crimes unit, overturned their decision.
In December last year Mrwebi ordered that the charges be withdrawn after referring the matter to the inspector general of intelligence, advocate Faith Radebe. But on March 19 this year, Radebe ruled that criminal investigations were a police responsibility and the matter should go back to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to reinstitute criminal charges.
Now, according to information obtained by the Mail & Guardian: Both Zuma and Police -Minister Nathi Mthethwa questioned Radebe's decision to refer the Mdluli investigation back to the NPA for prosecution; Zuma went so far as to call Radebe personally about her decision; Mthethwa called Radebe to a meeting with him on Tuesday this week, with acting national commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi; and notwithstanding the damning report on Mdluli, which was copied to Mkhwanazi, Mthethwa ordered Mdluli's suspension lifted.
Zuma openly displayed his support for Mdluli by attending a December function he hosted to celebrate the withdrawal of charges. Questioned by the M&G about Zuma's call to the inspector general and his attendance at Mdluli's celebration, presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj declined to confirm or deny the claim. "The presidency is not obliged to give an account of the president's day-to-day meetings, discussions and any other form of communication except those of a public nature," he said in a written response.
The source of Zuma's association with Mdluli is not clear, but the policeman, as deputy to the Gauteng provincial commissioner, oversaw the detectives who investigated Zuma's rape case in 2006. Mthethwa refused to answer questions about his meeting with Radebe and Mkhwanazi, including whether he had issued an instruction to reinstate Mdluli. "Like all internal meetings, we do not divulge the contents thereof," said a statement from Mthethwa's spokesperson.
In response to questions from the M&G, the South African Police Service issued a general media announcement on Wednesday night confirming Mdluli's reinstatement. "A decision was taken to lift the suspension of Lieutenant General Richard Mdluli," the statement read, confirming the decision was effective the day of the meeting with Mthethwa. "The resolution is with effect from March 27 2012. This will not be discussed further in the public domain."
Major General Solomon Lazarus, who manages the secret services account and who had also been suspended in relation to alleged abuses of the fund, was also reinstated. The moves come on top of allegations that Mthethwa was ultimately responsible for instructions to the Hawks to shut down the investigation of Mdluli and the broader crime intelligence probe. The murder case against Mdluli was withdrawn when the NPA decided instead to institute an inquest into the 1999 death of Oupa Ramogibe, an alleged love rival of Mdluli. The authority withdrew charges despite being in possession of an independent legal opinion that reportedly recommended it proceed.
It also appears likely that the NPA will ignore the inspector general's advice to reinstitute fraud charges against Mdluli. Radebe did not respond to questions from the M&G, but her recommendation was contained in a March 19 letter that appears to have set off the interventions from Zuma and Mthethwa. In the letter, she rejected a memorandum from Mrwebi setting out his reasons for withdrawing of charges. She noted: "The mandate of the inspector general of intelligence does not extend to criminal investigations ... As such we are of the opinion the reasons advanced by the NPA in support of the withdrawal of the criminal charges are inaccurate and legally flawed. We therefore recommend that this matter be referred back to the NPA for the institution of the criminal charges."
Responding to questions from the M&G, NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said Mrwebi's decision to withdraw the case against Mdluli "was informed by the insufficiency of relevant and admissible evidence to sustain charges". This was denied by one experienced investigator familiar with the probe, who described the fraud charge as "a slam-dunk case". Mhaga said the NPA had received a copy of Radebe's letter. "We are still considering its contents and will have further discussions with the police and determine the way forward."
Police officials fear that Mdluli's reinstatement will put him in a position to complete a purge of crime intelligence officers regarded as disloyal or too close to suspended police commissioner Bheki Cele. As the secret report shows, members of crime intelligence played a key role in providing evidence to the Hawks and one had to be placed in witness protection after being threatened by senior colleagues.
Earlier this year, three top members of the command structure of the crime intelligence division in KwaZulu-Natal were suspended or transferred. And, through Lazarus, Mdluli is again placed in control of a secret slush fund rumoured to contain in excess of a billion rand. Mdluli's return to service also places him in pole position to succeed Cele, who appears to be regarded as insufficiently loyal to Zuma. The interventions to protect Mdluli appear to be part of an unrestrained campaign by Zuma to consolidate his power base in state security structures ahead of the ANC’s elective conference in December.
According to a well-informed source, a plan is in place to transfer command of the police VIP division and presidential protection unit to fall under the control of crime intelligence. This will not only ensure that they fall under Mdluli's command, but will also give him direct access to the most intimate day-to-day details of the activities of all of Zuma's political rivals.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The main charges against Mdluli concerned defrauding crime intelligence to buy two new BMWs for himself and his wife and appointing or promoting family members as highly paid agents. The wide-ranging allegations create a disturbing backdrop for the way in which Zuma and like-minded officials have intervened to support and protect Mdluli. Mdluli was last year investigated by the Hawks for abuses of the secret services account, the covert fund used to finance undercover crime intelligence operations. Prosecutors charged Mdluli, but advocate Lawrence Mrwebi, the man controversially appointed by Zuma to head the commercial crimes unit, overturned their decision.
In December last year Mrwebi ordered that the charges be withdrawn after referring the matter to the inspector general of intelligence, advocate Faith Radebe. But on March 19 this year, Radebe ruled that criminal investigations were a police responsibility and the matter should go back to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to reinstitute criminal charges.
Now, according to information obtained by the Mail & Guardian: Both Zuma and Police -Minister Nathi Mthethwa questioned Radebe's decision to refer the Mdluli investigation back to the NPA for prosecution; Zuma went so far as to call Radebe personally about her decision; Mthethwa called Radebe to a meeting with him on Tuesday this week, with acting national commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi; and notwithstanding the damning report on Mdluli, which was copied to Mkhwanazi, Mthethwa ordered Mdluli's suspension lifted.
Zuma openly displayed his support for Mdluli by attending a December function he hosted to celebrate the withdrawal of charges. Questioned by the M&G about Zuma's call to the inspector general and his attendance at Mdluli's celebration, presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj declined to confirm or deny the claim. "The presidency is not obliged to give an account of the president's day-to-day meetings, discussions and any other form of communication except those of a public nature," he said in a written response.
The source of Zuma's association with Mdluli is not clear, but the policeman, as deputy to the Gauteng provincial commissioner, oversaw the detectives who investigated Zuma's rape case in 2006. Mthethwa refused to answer questions about his meeting with Radebe and Mkhwanazi, including whether he had issued an instruction to reinstate Mdluli. "Like all internal meetings, we do not divulge the contents thereof," said a statement from Mthethwa's spokesperson.
In response to questions from the M&G, the South African Police Service issued a general media announcement on Wednesday night confirming Mdluli's reinstatement. "A decision was taken to lift the suspension of Lieutenant General Richard Mdluli," the statement read, confirming the decision was effective the day of the meeting with Mthethwa. "The resolution is with effect from March 27 2012. This will not be discussed further in the public domain."
Major General Solomon Lazarus, who manages the secret services account and who had also been suspended in relation to alleged abuses of the fund, was also reinstated. The moves come on top of allegations that Mthethwa was ultimately responsible for instructions to the Hawks to shut down the investigation of Mdluli and the broader crime intelligence probe. The murder case against Mdluli was withdrawn when the NPA decided instead to institute an inquest into the 1999 death of Oupa Ramogibe, an alleged love rival of Mdluli. The authority withdrew charges despite being in possession of an independent legal opinion that reportedly recommended it proceed.
It also appears likely that the NPA will ignore the inspector general's advice to reinstitute fraud charges against Mdluli. Radebe did not respond to questions from the M&G, but her recommendation was contained in a March 19 letter that appears to have set off the interventions from Zuma and Mthethwa. In the letter, she rejected a memorandum from Mrwebi setting out his reasons for withdrawing of charges. She noted: "The mandate of the inspector general of intelligence does not extend to criminal investigations ... As such we are of the opinion the reasons advanced by the NPA in support of the withdrawal of the criminal charges are inaccurate and legally flawed. We therefore recommend that this matter be referred back to the NPA for the institution of the criminal charges."
Responding to questions from the M&G, NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said Mrwebi's decision to withdraw the case against Mdluli "was informed by the insufficiency of relevant and admissible evidence to sustain charges". This was denied by one experienced investigator familiar with the probe, who described the fraud charge as "a slam-dunk case". Mhaga said the NPA had received a copy of Radebe's letter. "We are still considering its contents and will have further discussions with the police and determine the way forward."
Police officials fear that Mdluli's reinstatement will put him in a position to complete a purge of crime intelligence officers regarded as disloyal or too close to suspended police commissioner Bheki Cele. As the secret report shows, members of crime intelligence played a key role in providing evidence to the Hawks and one had to be placed in witness protection after being threatened by senior colleagues.
Earlier this year, three top members of the command structure of the crime intelligence division in KwaZulu-Natal were suspended or transferred. And, through Lazarus, Mdluli is again placed in control of a secret slush fund rumoured to contain in excess of a billion rand. Mdluli's return to service also places him in pole position to succeed Cele, who appears to be regarded as insufficiently loyal to Zuma. The interventions to protect Mdluli appear to be part of an unrestrained campaign by Zuma to consolidate his power base in state security structures ahead of the ANC’s elective conference in December.
According to a well-informed source, a plan is in place to transfer command of the police VIP division and presidential protection unit to fall under the control of crime intelligence. This will not only ensure that they fall under Mdluli's command, but will also give him direct access to the most intimate day-to-day details of the activities of all of Zuma's political rivals.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, March 23, 2012
President Zuma's phalanx of praetorian guards
Spy boss Richard Mdluli, whom Jacob Zuma "owes for his acquittal on rape charges", has emerged as part of a complex network "guarding" the president. President Jacob Zuma seems to be creating a personal shield and spear in the justice and security sectors: a phalanx of praetorian guards allied to him and to each other.
These connections appear to be driving key interventions, notably:
The withdrawal of murder and corruption charges against suspended police Crime Intelligence Service (CIS) boss Richard Mdluli;
The closure of the Hawks investigations into Mdludli and the broader abuse of CIS slush funds;
The suspension of Hawks KwaZulu-Natal commander Johan Booysen; and
The replacement of KwaZulu-Natal CIS head Deena Moodley by acting commander Brigadier Thuso Tshika.
The central member of this grouping appears to be Mdluli, with other key players clustered around him, including Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa; acting police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi; acting national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) Nomgcobo Jiba; commercial crime prosecutions boss Lawrence Mrwebi; North West crime intelligence heavyweight Colonel Tsietsi Mano; and Mdluli murder case co-accused Colonel Nkosana “Killer” Ximba. “President Jacob Zuma believes he owes Mdluli for his acquittal in the rape case,” said one National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) source, while denying the correctness of this belief.
Whatever the truth may be, it appears that Mdluli himself is keen to hint at this connection. In his November 2010 top-secret report to Zuma setting out his allegations of a conspiracy against him, Mdluli says: “My relationship with Colonel Ximba is on a professional level, both politically and work related — Colonel Ximba is an active member of the ANC and during the struggle was a leader of one of the self-defence units — Colonel Ximba also played an important role in the Polokwane conference and also during the president’s trying times with his engagement with the NPA.”
According to reports, it was Mdluli who, following his appointment as CIS head in 2009, boosted Ximba up the ranks from constable to colonel. Mdluli appears to have been hand-picked by Zuma allies for the crime intelligence position and was appointed over the objections of then-acting commissioner Tim Williams.
Last year Williams, who has retired, spoke out against the appointment, telling City Press he regarded the appointment process as irregular and politically motivated. “He was appointed by the minister,” he said, referring to Mthethwa. In the run-up to his appointment Mdluli also played a key role in an apparent campaign against the Scorpions that united both the Zuma and Mbeki factions of the ANC.
One of Mdluli’s confidants, Colonel Tsietsi Mano, was called in to pursue the investigation of Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel. Mano roped in Nel’s then-subordinate, advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, in a bid to have an arrest warrant issued against Nel on the eve of the planned arrest of Jackie Selebi.
When the NPA suspended and disciplined Jiba, Mdluli submitted a dramatic affidavit in her defence, revealing for the first time that crime intelligence had monitored the conversations of Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and quoting extracts from the McCarthy transcripts. These intercepts were later leaked to Zuma’s attorney, Michael Hulley, and formed the basis for the NPA decision to drop charges against Zuma. According to evidence gathered for Jiba’s disciplinary hearing, she also roped in former KwaZulu-Natal Scorpions boss Lawrence Mrwebi, who had also become concerned at the allegedly partisan nature of the Scorpions investigations.
In November last year Zuma appointed Mrwebi to head the commercial crime division in the face of reports that then-director of prosecutions Menzi Simelane had recommended someone else. It was Mrwebi who in December 2011 ordered the withdrawal of fraud charges against Mdluli that had been investigated by the Hawks. Mdluli was accused of personally benefiting from discounts earned on the purchase of vehicles by crime intelligence. In doing so, Mrwebi overrode the views of Glynnis Breytenbach, and her opposition to the withdrawal of charges against Mdluli has been partly blamed for subsequent attempts to suspend her. A well-placed source said that Zuma had gone as far as attending a function held by Mdluli to celebrate the withdrawal of charges, though this could not be independently confirmed.
Neither presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj nor Mdluli’s lawyer responded to questions about Zuma’s meeting with Mdluli. After the December 2011 decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal that Simelane’s appointment was invalid, Zuma appointed Jiba as acting NDPP to replace him. Mano was also appointed to head a North West task team probing the 2009 murder of councillor Moss Phakoe, who had circulated an internal ANC dossier alleging Rustenburg ANC heavyweight Matthew Wolmarans was involved in corruption.
The investigation under Mano went nowhere but, according to a City Press report, there was a breakthrough in 2011 after Hawks investigators found the Phakoe docket during a raid on Mdluli. This could suggest that Mano withheld crucial information about a party official from all but Mdluli, who also sat on it. Mdluli also brought in Mano to trace the source of a report in the Sunday Independent in October 2010, which raised serious allegations of corruption and nepotism against Mdluli and suspended national police commissioner Bheki Cele.
The report appeared to have been sourced from disgruntled crime intelligence members in KwaZulu-Natal, and Mdluli instructed Mano to establish the source of the leaks against him. At the time he was given this sensitive task, Mano was out on bail in connection with his alleged involvement in the assault of a robbery suspect. He had also been slammed by a North Gauteng High Court judge for his alleged involvement in the torture of traditional healer Madimetja Phineas Kutumela, a suspect in the murder of Constable Francis Rasuge, who had disappeared in 2004.
Mano is understood to have laid the blame for the leaks at the door of a senior counterintelligence officer, but the KwaZulu-Natal complaints seem to have formed the basis for the recent purge of senior crime intelligence officers in the province, driven by acting national commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Earlier this month, CIS provincial boss Deena Moodley was transferred out of crime intelligence and replaced by Brigadier Thuso Tshika.
Tshika, described by someone who knows him as “more of a politician than a policeman”, is a former MK operative.
Moodley is perceived as being close to Johan Booysen, the head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal.
Booysen and Cele
Both minister Mthethwa and acting commissioner Mkhwanazi have been at the forefront of efforts to suspend Booysen, who on Thursday succeeded in having his suspension overturned in court for the second time.
The claim against Booysen is that he failed to act against members of the so-called Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit “death squad” that fell under his indirect command.
The unit, involved in a number of suspicious deaths, was disbanded by Mkhwanazi, but the move against Booysen is widely regarded a an indirect blow against Cele, of whom he was considered an ally.
It is understood that Hawks boss Anwa Dramat, to whom Booysen reports, believes there is no real case against him, but—as with the termination of the Mdluli investigation—has complied with Mkhwanazi’s instructions.
Panday and friends
The determination to unseat Booysen may, however, have more to do with the Panday case than with Cele. In court papers, Booysen claimed the campaign against him is driven by millionaire Durban businessman Thoshan Panday and the provincial supply chain police boss Colonel Navin Madhoe.
Booysen’s Hawks have been investigating the pair for allegedly massively inflating hotel bills for police accommodation sourced by Panday’s companies.
Panday appears to have powerful friends. Two independent sources, who declined to be named, have claimed that Zuma’s son Edward had attempted on several occasions to speak to Booysen about Panday.
Edward Zuma could not be reached for comment.
Another source, who also declined to be named but is regarded as close to Cele, said that Deebo Mzobe, a distant relative of President Zuma, had also sought to intervene on Panday’s behalf in a meeting with Cele.
Contacted for comment, Mzobe denied this. “No, that is not true,” he said. “We talk a lot with the commissioner [Cele]; we have a lot of things we discuss. I can’t say specifically what I go there to talk about.”
Mzobe denied he was in business with Panday. “Not at all; there is no business we are running together. I know him —we discuss [business], but we don’t have a particular business together.”
The M&G has identified at least three companies that show both Panday and Mzobe registered as directors. Mzobe, who is described as a “friend” of the president, is involved in the Masibambisane Rural Development Initiative with Zuma in Nkandla and elsewhere.
The project is controversial, as it is seen as using presidential influence to push state resources in the direction of favoured communities.
Source: Mail & Guardian
These connections appear to be driving key interventions, notably:
The withdrawal of murder and corruption charges against suspended police Crime Intelligence Service (CIS) boss Richard Mdluli;
The closure of the Hawks investigations into Mdludli and the broader abuse of CIS slush funds;
The suspension of Hawks KwaZulu-Natal commander Johan Booysen; and
The replacement of KwaZulu-Natal CIS head Deena Moodley by acting commander Brigadier Thuso Tshika.
The central member of this grouping appears to be Mdluli, with other key players clustered around him, including Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa; acting police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi; acting national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) Nomgcobo Jiba; commercial crime prosecutions boss Lawrence Mrwebi; North West crime intelligence heavyweight Colonel Tsietsi Mano; and Mdluli murder case co-accused Colonel Nkosana “Killer” Ximba. “President Jacob Zuma believes he owes Mdluli for his acquittal in the rape case,” said one National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) source, while denying the correctness of this belief.
Whatever the truth may be, it appears that Mdluli himself is keen to hint at this connection. In his November 2010 top-secret report to Zuma setting out his allegations of a conspiracy against him, Mdluli says: “My relationship with Colonel Ximba is on a professional level, both politically and work related — Colonel Ximba is an active member of the ANC and during the struggle was a leader of one of the self-defence units — Colonel Ximba also played an important role in the Polokwane conference and also during the president’s trying times with his engagement with the NPA.”
According to reports, it was Mdluli who, following his appointment as CIS head in 2009, boosted Ximba up the ranks from constable to colonel. Mdluli appears to have been hand-picked by Zuma allies for the crime intelligence position and was appointed over the objections of then-acting commissioner Tim Williams.
Last year Williams, who has retired, spoke out against the appointment, telling City Press he regarded the appointment process as irregular and politically motivated. “He was appointed by the minister,” he said, referring to Mthethwa. In the run-up to his appointment Mdluli also played a key role in an apparent campaign against the Scorpions that united both the Zuma and Mbeki factions of the ANC.
One of Mdluli’s confidants, Colonel Tsietsi Mano, was called in to pursue the investigation of Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel. Mano roped in Nel’s then-subordinate, advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, in a bid to have an arrest warrant issued against Nel on the eve of the planned arrest of Jackie Selebi.
When the NPA suspended and disciplined Jiba, Mdluli submitted a dramatic affidavit in her defence, revealing for the first time that crime intelligence had monitored the conversations of Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and quoting extracts from the McCarthy transcripts. These intercepts were later leaked to Zuma’s attorney, Michael Hulley, and formed the basis for the NPA decision to drop charges against Zuma. According to evidence gathered for Jiba’s disciplinary hearing, she also roped in former KwaZulu-Natal Scorpions boss Lawrence Mrwebi, who had also become concerned at the allegedly partisan nature of the Scorpions investigations.
In November last year Zuma appointed Mrwebi to head the commercial crime division in the face of reports that then-director of prosecutions Menzi Simelane had recommended someone else. It was Mrwebi who in December 2011 ordered the withdrawal of fraud charges against Mdluli that had been investigated by the Hawks. Mdluli was accused of personally benefiting from discounts earned on the purchase of vehicles by crime intelligence. In doing so, Mrwebi overrode the views of Glynnis Breytenbach, and her opposition to the withdrawal of charges against Mdluli has been partly blamed for subsequent attempts to suspend her. A well-placed source said that Zuma had gone as far as attending a function held by Mdluli to celebrate the withdrawal of charges, though this could not be independently confirmed.
Neither presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj nor Mdluli’s lawyer responded to questions about Zuma’s meeting with Mdluli. After the December 2011 decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal that Simelane’s appointment was invalid, Zuma appointed Jiba as acting NDPP to replace him. Mano was also appointed to head a North West task team probing the 2009 murder of councillor Moss Phakoe, who had circulated an internal ANC dossier alleging Rustenburg ANC heavyweight Matthew Wolmarans was involved in corruption.
The investigation under Mano went nowhere but, according to a City Press report, there was a breakthrough in 2011 after Hawks investigators found the Phakoe docket during a raid on Mdluli. This could suggest that Mano withheld crucial information about a party official from all but Mdluli, who also sat on it. Mdluli also brought in Mano to trace the source of a report in the Sunday Independent in October 2010, which raised serious allegations of corruption and nepotism against Mdluli and suspended national police commissioner Bheki Cele.
The report appeared to have been sourced from disgruntled crime intelligence members in KwaZulu-Natal, and Mdluli instructed Mano to establish the source of the leaks against him. At the time he was given this sensitive task, Mano was out on bail in connection with his alleged involvement in the assault of a robbery suspect. He had also been slammed by a North Gauteng High Court judge for his alleged involvement in the torture of traditional healer Madimetja Phineas Kutumela, a suspect in the murder of Constable Francis Rasuge, who had disappeared in 2004.
Mano is understood to have laid the blame for the leaks at the door of a senior counterintelligence officer, but the KwaZulu-Natal complaints seem to have formed the basis for the recent purge of senior crime intelligence officers in the province, driven by acting national commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Earlier this month, CIS provincial boss Deena Moodley was transferred out of crime intelligence and replaced by Brigadier Thuso Tshika.
Tshika, described by someone who knows him as “more of a politician than a policeman”, is a former MK operative.
Moodley is perceived as being close to Johan Booysen, the head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal.
Booysen and Cele
Both minister Mthethwa and acting commissioner Mkhwanazi have been at the forefront of efforts to suspend Booysen, who on Thursday succeeded in having his suspension overturned in court for the second time.
The claim against Booysen is that he failed to act against members of the so-called Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit “death squad” that fell under his indirect command.
The unit, involved in a number of suspicious deaths, was disbanded by Mkhwanazi, but the move against Booysen is widely regarded a an indirect blow against Cele, of whom he was considered an ally.
It is understood that Hawks boss Anwa Dramat, to whom Booysen reports, believes there is no real case against him, but—as with the termination of the Mdluli investigation—has complied with Mkhwanazi’s instructions.
Panday and friends
The determination to unseat Booysen may, however, have more to do with the Panday case than with Cele. In court papers, Booysen claimed the campaign against him is driven by millionaire Durban businessman Thoshan Panday and the provincial supply chain police boss Colonel Navin Madhoe.
Booysen’s Hawks have been investigating the pair for allegedly massively inflating hotel bills for police accommodation sourced by Panday’s companies.
Panday appears to have powerful friends. Two independent sources, who declined to be named, have claimed that Zuma’s son Edward had attempted on several occasions to speak to Booysen about Panday.
Edward Zuma could not be reached for comment.
Another source, who also declined to be named but is regarded as close to Cele, said that Deebo Mzobe, a distant relative of President Zuma, had also sought to intervene on Panday’s behalf in a meeting with Cele.
Contacted for comment, Mzobe denied this. “No, that is not true,” he said. “We talk a lot with the commissioner [Cele]; we have a lot of things we discuss. I can’t say specifically what I go there to talk about.”
Mzobe denied he was in business with Panday. “Not at all; there is no business we are running together. I know him —we discuss [business], but we don’t have a particular business together.”
The M&G has identified at least three companies that show both Panday and Mzobe registered as directors. Mzobe, who is described as a “friend” of the president, is involved in the Masibambisane Rural Development Initiative with Zuma in Nkandla and elsewhere.
The project is controversial, as it is seen as using presidential influence to push state resources in the direction of favoured communities.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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