ANC alliance partners in Mpumalanga have taken a swipe at Premier David Mabuza’s “corruption-riddled” administration.
The SACP, Cosatu and the South African Student Congress (Sasco) said they would embark on a series of marches against corruption, to demand an outcome of the probe into political killings and the banning of labour brokers. They believe that corruption and political killings are linked.
“We want the police to come up with practical ways of investigating individuals who are implicated in corruption,” said provincial SACP secretary Bonakele Majuba during a press conference.
“The political killings come as a result of corruption. Tendering is becoming a problem for this country and is causing strain,” Majuba said.
Cosatu secretary Fidel Mlombo said whistleblowers were victimised for reporting corruption.
Mlombo mentioned cases which, he said, indicated that Mpumalanga was a capital of corruption:
» The auditor-general’s report according to which 80% of tenders in Mpumalanga were issued irregularly;
» Alleged corruption related to the R1.2-billion Mbombela stadium;
» The R230-million farm mechanisation tender that was awarded to Mabuza’s former business partner while he was MEC for agriculture;
» The R300 million that parastatal Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) failed to account for;
» R2.7-million theft at Mbombela municipality;
» The withdrawal of charges against former Mbombela municipal manager Jacob Dladla and the golden handshake offered to him.
Dladla was found guilty of tender corruption in 2010 but the council withdrew the charges last December and took a resolution to pay him about R2.1 million.
Mlombo said more than ten whistleblowers were killed in Mpumalanga since 2006.
The alliance partners said the police should report back on the progress of its 12-member team that was tasked with probing political murders.
Mpumalanga government spokesperson Lebona Mosia said it was untrue that the provincial administration was not fighting corruption.
“Just last week the premier announced the formation of the anti-corruption council and said its strategy has been approved by cabinet. It can't be true that we're doing nothing because officials and service providers have been charged in this province for corruption,” Mosia said.
Source: News 24
Showing posts with label Jacob Dladla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacob Dladla. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Monday, October 4, 2010
Cops Implicated in Murder of Senior Politician
Community activists swamped the KaBokweni magistrate's court on Monday to catch a glimpse of the men accused of executing the corruption-busting speaker of Mpumalanga's capital city, Jimmy Mohlala. Two of the accused are policemen, while a third accused is the mother of the alleged trigger-man.
Mohlala was shot dead on January 4 last year after three gunmen invaded his KaNyamazane home. His 19-year-old son, Tshepiso, was shot and injured. On Monday, bail was set at R10 000 each for the four suspects, who were arrested on Saturday.
The suspects - Jenny Mabika (56) who is a cleaner at Rob Ferreira hospital, unemployed Moses Mahungela (33), and two police constables, Dumisani Mhlanga of the Nelspruit flying squad and Musa Mkhabela of the KaNyamazane police - were not asked to plead to charges of murder and attempted murder.
Mohlala's widow, Bonny, was at the court on Monday to face the four accused. Looking exhausted, Mrs Mohlala told African Eye News Service (AENS) that she was disappointed that the suspects include two policemen. “I am still shocked that the people who are supposed to protect us, are actually the ones who are accused of murdering my husband. Now it explains why it took the police over 20 months to make arrests, because their own are involved,” said Mohlala. She said the arrests, while welcome, were traumatic as the family was reliving the events of Mohlala's murder. “We just want closure on this matter,” she said.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said the suspects were arrested after police received a tip-off. He said the murder charge related to Mohlala's death, while the attempted murder charge related to the shooting and injuring of his teenaged son, Tshepiso. Hlathi said the hospital cleaner is the mother of a fifth suspect who is believed to have pulled the trigger and is still at large. “She is also implicated in this case because we have evidence that she has been hiding (her son) from the police,” Hlathi said. He said the charges against her may therefore be reduced to charges of conspiracy or defeating the ends of justice.
The four accused were able to pay bail and are expected to appear in court again on November 5. Mohlala's nephew, Pat Mohlala, was disappointed at the amount set for bail. “Personally, I am not happy about the bail," he said. "R10 000 is peanuts in a high profile case like this.”
Lawyer for the suspects, Slungu Thobela of Thobela Attorneys, said the State does not have a case against his clients. “The police do not have anything that link my clients to this case, so I don't believe they have a case against them,” said Thobela.
Mohlala was killed a week before he was scheduled to testify about former municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions, as well as Dladla's role in the poor management of the 2010 Mbombela stadium project. Mohlala was also planning to recommend that fraud charges be laid against Lefika Emerging Equity, the 2010 stadium project managers. A letter dated December 22, 2008, was sent by Lefika on a Mbombela municipality letterhead to First National Bank as surety for an overdraft facility. The letter bears the name of acting municipal manager, Sigananda Siboza. Mohlala and Siboza both claimed the letter was fraudulent.
Source: Capital
Mohlala was shot dead on January 4 last year after three gunmen invaded his KaNyamazane home. His 19-year-old son, Tshepiso, was shot and injured. On Monday, bail was set at R10 000 each for the four suspects, who were arrested on Saturday.
The suspects - Jenny Mabika (56) who is a cleaner at Rob Ferreira hospital, unemployed Moses Mahungela (33), and two police constables, Dumisani Mhlanga of the Nelspruit flying squad and Musa Mkhabela of the KaNyamazane police - were not asked to plead to charges of murder and attempted murder.
Mohlala's widow, Bonny, was at the court on Monday to face the four accused. Looking exhausted, Mrs Mohlala told African Eye News Service (AENS) that she was disappointed that the suspects include two policemen. “I am still shocked that the people who are supposed to protect us, are actually the ones who are accused of murdering my husband. Now it explains why it took the police over 20 months to make arrests, because their own are involved,” said Mohlala. She said the arrests, while welcome, were traumatic as the family was reliving the events of Mohlala's murder. “We just want closure on this matter,” she said.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said the suspects were arrested after police received a tip-off. He said the murder charge related to Mohlala's death, while the attempted murder charge related to the shooting and injuring of his teenaged son, Tshepiso. Hlathi said the hospital cleaner is the mother of a fifth suspect who is believed to have pulled the trigger and is still at large. “She is also implicated in this case because we have evidence that she has been hiding (her son) from the police,” Hlathi said. He said the charges against her may therefore be reduced to charges of conspiracy or defeating the ends of justice.
The four accused were able to pay bail and are expected to appear in court again on November 5. Mohlala's nephew, Pat Mohlala, was disappointed at the amount set for bail. “Personally, I am not happy about the bail," he said. "R10 000 is peanuts in a high profile case like this.”
Lawyer for the suspects, Slungu Thobela of Thobela Attorneys, said the State does not have a case against his clients. “The police do not have anything that link my clients to this case, so I don't believe they have a case against them,” said Thobela.
Mohlala was killed a week before he was scheduled to testify about former municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions, as well as Dladla's role in the poor management of the 2010 Mbombela stadium project. Mohlala was also planning to recommend that fraud charges be laid against Lefika Emerging Equity, the 2010 stadium project managers. A letter dated December 22, 2008, was sent by Lefika on a Mbombela municipality letterhead to First National Bank as surety for an overdraft facility. The letter bears the name of acting municipal manager, Sigananda Siboza. Mohlala and Siboza both claimed the letter was fraudulent.
Source: Capital
Friday, March 26, 2010
Mayor refuses to leave quietly
Mbombela local municipality mayor Lassy Chiwayo has accused ANC members of orchestrating his removal for refusing to hire their relatives and drop charges against former Mbombela municipal manager Jacob Dladla, who was dismissed late last year. Chiwayo was speaking to journalists during a press conference yesterday after the Ehlanzeni regional executive council announced its recommendation to recall him as mayor on Wednesday. "There are senior ANC members who sit in the provincial executive committee (PEC) who warned me that I will be removed if I don't follow their instructions. Similar threats also came from the regional executive council (REC), who wanted me to appoint certain individuals," said Chiwayo.
He said the REC's secretary, Pat Ngomane, deputy chairman Peter Nyoni and regional working committee member Bheki Zulu were behind the calls to remove him. "These three comrades told me that I should restructure my entire mayoral committee, remove the deputy mayor (Nackie Ndlovu) and replace her with Nyoni's wife (Jester Sidel)," he said.
Chiwayo said he was also instructed at PEC level to sweep the Dladla matter under the carpet. He repeated that slain Mbombela Speaker Jimmy Mohlala was "executed" days before testifying in the disciplinary hearings against Dladla, who had a string of charges laid against him, and said it was clear that Dladla had been placed at Mbombela to become a "channel for looting". Chiwayo specifically mentioned that he had received "strict instructions" to suspend all disciplinary actions against Dladla. "I was warned that I will be removed as mayor if I don't suspended the disciplinary action. I refused and when he was found guilty and dismissed I was given instruction to either reinstate him or give him a golden handshake," he said.
Chiwayo said Mpumalanga's status as a 2010 World Cup host province had "erupted into chaos" and become "a curse to its own people". "The opportunity to host the 2010 World Cup is an international gift that was aimed at unifying our people, but now it has become a curse because of greed and power-mongering," said Chiwayo. "We have people dying on Mbombela soil because of tenders. It's as if there's an evil force that is thirsty for blood, a devil that has become a challenge for us to fight. These people decide who gets employed, where a tender should go and, if you defy them, you become a target." Chiwayo revealed that he had written a detailed report to the ANC, the national government and the National Intelligence Agency about the "power madness" in Mpumalanga.
Provincial secretary Lucky Ndinisa said the REC's recommendation had not yet been tabled. "That recommendation does not stand as a decision of the PEC. It will come to the PEC and we will look at it. As far as we are concerned, comrade Chiwayo remains Nelspruit's mayor," said Ndinisa.
Source: The Star
He said the REC's secretary, Pat Ngomane, deputy chairman Peter Nyoni and regional working committee member Bheki Zulu were behind the calls to remove him. "These three comrades told me that I should restructure my entire mayoral committee, remove the deputy mayor (Nackie Ndlovu) and replace her with Nyoni's wife (Jester Sidel)," he said.
Chiwayo said he was also instructed at PEC level to sweep the Dladla matter under the carpet. He repeated that slain Mbombela Speaker Jimmy Mohlala was "executed" days before testifying in the disciplinary hearings against Dladla, who had a string of charges laid against him, and said it was clear that Dladla had been placed at Mbombela to become a "channel for looting". Chiwayo specifically mentioned that he had received "strict instructions" to suspend all disciplinary actions against Dladla. "I was warned that I will be removed as mayor if I don't suspended the disciplinary action. I refused and when he was found guilty and dismissed I was given instruction to either reinstate him or give him a golden handshake," he said.
Chiwayo said Mpumalanga's status as a 2010 World Cup host province had "erupted into chaos" and become "a curse to its own people". "The opportunity to host the 2010 World Cup is an international gift that was aimed at unifying our people, but now it has become a curse because of greed and power-mongering," said Chiwayo. "We have people dying on Mbombela soil because of tenders. It's as if there's an evil force that is thirsty for blood, a devil that has become a challenge for us to fight. These people decide who gets employed, where a tender should go and, if you defy them, you become a target." Chiwayo revealed that he had written a detailed report to the ANC, the national government and the National Intelligence Agency about the "power madness" in Mpumalanga.
Provincial secretary Lucky Ndinisa said the REC's recommendation had not yet been tabled. "That recommendation does not stand as a decision of the PEC. It will come to the PEC and we will look at it. As far as we are concerned, comrade Chiwayo remains Nelspruit's mayor," said Ndinisa.
Source: The Star
Friday, February 26, 2010
Prominent mayor on 'hit-lists'
The family of Lassy Chiwayo, Mbombela (Nelspruit) Local Municipality mayor, wants him to quit politics because his name apparently tops three reported hit-lists that could be targeting whistleblowers The Mail & Guardian has been told that first list contains the names of 20 people who should be "shot and poisoned", the second names 10 people who should be "shot", while the third names six who should be "poisoned".
The lists are said to be circulating in Mpumalanga. "Obviously, your family will be concerned if your name is rumoured to be on a hit-list, especially taking into consideration that some of the people also alleged to be on the list have already been killed," Chiwayo said this week. "My family has asked me to reconsider my position in politics and to return to private business. I am worried about my children because I can't protect them 24 hours a day."
But he is not about to resign as mayor. "I joined politics at the age of 13 -- I came home one day wearing an Azapo T-shirt and my mom beat me. I didn't give up and I'm not about to do so now," he said. Before being deployed as ANC mayor, Chiwayo was a businessman involved in the Gautrain project. He said he had "no doubt" that some murders and the hit-lists were related to tenders and politics in the province. "I know for a fact that [former Mbombela speaker] Jimmy Mohlala was killed for being vocal about the 2010 Mbombela stadium tender irregularities," he said.
Mohlala was shot and killed outside his house in KaNyamazane on January 4 this year, a week before he was to testify about dismissed municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions and his role in alleged tender irregularities linked to the Mbombela stadium. Mohlala also wanted fraud charges to be laid against the project managers, Lefika Emerging Equity.
The murder this year of senior government communicator Sammy Mphatlanyane could also be tender related. A police source said that Mphatlanyane's death outside his Nelspruit house on January 8 could have been linked to his refusal to award a R20-million tender from the provincial department of culture, sport and recreation to a friend of a prominent ANC leader in the province. Mphatlanyane was deputy director of communications in the department.
Mphatlanyane and Mohlala's names were on the 20-people hit-list, which was the first to surface. Chiwayo said the police should "leave no stone unturned" in tracking down the killers. "If the mastermind is within the ANC or holds a high position in the government, law enforcement should be even harsher," he said.
The name of Nelspruit service-station owner Thabo Theledi also appears on the lists. The police source said he was supposed to have been killed on Wednesday last week, but the killer had "chickened out". Theledi said he had no idea why his name should be on a hit-list. "I left politics a long time ago and I was just an ordinary ANC member. The last time I renewed my ANC membership was five years ago and I've been running my business solo."
Provincial police spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said the police are still investigating the origin and credibility of the hit-lists. "It's possible that someone may have sent us a fake list just to derail and confuse the police in their investigation," Nkosi said. She said a number of people had been questioned about the two murders, but they had been released for lack of evidence.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The lists are said to be circulating in Mpumalanga. "Obviously, your family will be concerned if your name is rumoured to be on a hit-list, especially taking into consideration that some of the people also alleged to be on the list have already been killed," Chiwayo said this week. "My family has asked me to reconsider my position in politics and to return to private business. I am worried about my children because I can't protect them 24 hours a day."
But he is not about to resign as mayor. "I joined politics at the age of 13 -- I came home one day wearing an Azapo T-shirt and my mom beat me. I didn't give up and I'm not about to do so now," he said. Before being deployed as ANC mayor, Chiwayo was a businessman involved in the Gautrain project. He said he had "no doubt" that some murders and the hit-lists were related to tenders and politics in the province. "I know for a fact that [former Mbombela speaker] Jimmy Mohlala was killed for being vocal about the 2010 Mbombela stadium tender irregularities," he said.
Mohlala was shot and killed outside his house in KaNyamazane on January 4 this year, a week before he was to testify about dismissed municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions and his role in alleged tender irregularities linked to the Mbombela stadium. Mohlala also wanted fraud charges to be laid against the project managers, Lefika Emerging Equity.
The murder this year of senior government communicator Sammy Mphatlanyane could also be tender related. A police source said that Mphatlanyane's death outside his Nelspruit house on January 8 could have been linked to his refusal to award a R20-million tender from the provincial department of culture, sport and recreation to a friend of a prominent ANC leader in the province. Mphatlanyane was deputy director of communications in the department.
Mphatlanyane and Mohlala's names were on the 20-people hit-list, which was the first to surface. Chiwayo said the police should "leave no stone unturned" in tracking down the killers. "If the mastermind is within the ANC or holds a high position in the government, law enforcement should be even harsher," he said.
The name of Nelspruit service-station owner Thabo Theledi also appears on the lists. The police source said he was supposed to have been killed on Wednesday last week, but the killer had "chickened out". Theledi said he had no idea why his name should be on a hit-list. "I left politics a long time ago and I was just an ordinary ANC member. The last time I renewed my ANC membership was five years ago and I've been running my business solo."
Provincial police spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said the police are still investigating the origin and credibility of the hit-lists. "It's possible that someone may have sent us a fake list just to derail and confuse the police in their investigation," Nkosi said. She said a number of people had been questioned about the two murders, but they had been released for lack of evidence.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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