Deon de Lange and Candice BailEy
Staff Reporters
The Police Ministry this morning rubbished a document published by Independent Newspapers to corroborate claims made earlier this week that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela faced possible arrest.
The document, which shows that senior police officials were probing the commercial activities of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela during her time at the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC), was published in morning editions of Independent Newspapers titles today.
Ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi this morning said the “so-called evidence” published by the newspaper group “does not prove that an arrest (of Madonsela) was immindent”.
“I was anxiously awaiting this proof. But what the (newspaper) has published is not proof. Where is the arrest warrant?” he said.
He also criticised the newspaper for not approaching the Police Ministry for comment prior to Wednesday’s expose.
But Mnisi refused to comment on why the police got involved in what was an internal forensic inquiry by the Department of Justice, following a request by the National Treasury, into the possibility that Madonsela had failed to declare her personal business interests – and the possible conflict of interest that could have arisen as a consequence of this.
Mnisi could also not explain why the Police Ministry has to date denied that there was any investigation undertaken into the affairs of Madonsela’s companies during her time at the SALRC when documents published today clearly show the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) was investigating the matter.
In a statement yesterday the Justice Ministry emphasised that it never asked the police to investigate Madonsela. The document published today reveals that senior police officers were probing the matter.
The report also states, in full detail, the amount of money deposited into a bank account in Madonsela’s name. The two-page document – labelled confidential – is addressed to the head of commercial crime within the Hawks. The document is titled “Report regarding information relating to Waweth Resources CC”.
Waweth is a company Madonsela has admitted to owning and which had been contracted to do work by the Department of Justice. The document is dated April 1 this year. It claims that Madonsela’s companies, Waweth Resources CC and Waweth Law and Policy Research Agency, supplied consulting services to the Justice Department between August 2004 and July 2009 and was paid R1 845 826.
Madonsela has responded to the allegations, admitting she had done work but said this had not exceeded R46 000 and that the Justice Department had been aware of the business transactions.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Madonsela said the department had been told of her company when she joined the SALRC as a commissioner. But in the document, its author states he has perused a file compiled by a state law adviser alleging Madonsela benefited from the payments while she was employed by the department.
The disclosure of the probe into Madonsela’s affairs coincides with the publication of her final report into two controversial property lease deals, involving R500m and R1.1 billion respectively, to accommodate police headquarters in Pretoria and Durban.
In her preliminary report, Madonsela found national police commissioner General Bheki Cele guilty of unlawful conduct and maladministration for his role in the deals.
Yesterday, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa urged The Star to come forward with information on the merits of its story.
“Some people are continuously peddling these negative campaigns which portray the Public Protector as a victim in the eyes of society, and the department as the proponent of this victimisation. This must stop, and stop now,” he added.
Moegsien Williams, editor of The Star, said: “We have noted the statement of Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa and stand by our story, which in essence said the Public Protector, advocate Thuli Madonsela, was being investigated by the SAPS in connection with an allegation of corruption and fraud. It was based on a document at our disposal. When we approached senior police sources to verify the contents of the document, they confirmed the probe and said an arrest could follow. It’s disingenuous of the minister to ask us for proof that the public protector faces arrest without making reference to the investigation and its conclusion.”