Johannesburg - Hawks boss Berning Ntlemeza is off the hook after the National Prosecuting Authority's Director of Public Prosecutions declined to prosecute a police officer whose conduct Ntlemeza was accused of covering up.
A case of defeating the ends of justice was opened by Limpopo police officer Lieutenant Boitumelo Ramahlaha against Ntlemeza in April last year.
Ramahlaha accused Ntlemeza, who was deputy provincial commissioner for Limpopo at the time, of ignoring charges of misusing state vehicles against Thomas Rallele, because Rallele was allegedly romantically involved with the top cop’s daughter.
In a document drafted on June 7, the NPA’s Director of Public Prosecutions Ivy Thenga, said there was insufficient evidence against Rallele.
Thenga said Rallele’s supervisor had submitted a statement indicating that during that period he allegedly used the vehicle without authority between August 30 and October 25, 2011. Rallele would have been on duty.
“She mentioned that she cannot specifically recall what he would have been doing on those particular days because this happened a long time ago. It is worth noting that a docket was opened only in 2015, Thenga wrote.
Thenga said the complaint that Ntlemeza had failed to take action after the report was made to him about alleged misuse of the vehicle would be an internal matter for the police to deal with.
“It is therefore my view that further investigations in this matter will not take the matter further,” wrote Thenga.
Rallele declined to comment but Ntlemeza’s spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said Ntlemeza felt vindicated.
He said Ntlemeza had said many times that if he had done anything wrong he was more than willing to be investigated.
A senior prosecutor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “Once the DPP declines to prosecute, that's the end of the matter.”
Ntlemeza was appointed by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko last year after the then-Hawks head Anwa Dramat resigned.
Dramat and the then-Gauteng provincial head of the Hawks General Shadrack Sibiya were linked to the illegal rendition to Zimbabwe of five suspects.
The Star