Johannesburg - A high-ranking police officer who was controversially promoted while facing serious charges has come under fire for disregarding the law and victimising subordinates who laid charges against her.
Betty Lufuno Nkuna, who was promoted from lieutenant-colonel to colonel in August, has been accused of breaking the law with impunity, selling posts and exploiting her juniors by demanding favours and “lunch and transport money” from them.
She also allegedly sat on the panel that interviewed her daughter Xihungasi and lied about them being related; and unanimously docked or froze staff salaries and intimidated, threatened and victimised those who opposed her.
The claims were made by three police officers attached to the Protection and Security Service division, in Jeff Masemola Street, Pretoria.
They did not want to be named for fear of further victimisation.
The officers, who have 55 years of work experience between them, told The Star that Nkuna, who held the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was head of the human resource management before her promotion, had appointed a warrant officer to act “in a non-existing post, in which an acting allowance’ was paid” for six months in 2010.
The warrant officer would “brag in the corridors about sharing the acting allowance with Nkuna”.
They said Nkuna broke the Public Service Act when she allegedly changed an unpaid leave application to reflect paid leave for a police officer who had been arrested for assaulting and threatening to kill his wife and children.
The officer’s name is known to The Star.
In addition, Nkuna, who apparently would swiftly “deal” with any dissenting voices, was accused of irregularly appointing six officers to the service.
When confronted with the allegations, Nkuna refused to answer questions and pleaded ignorance, before ending the call. Subsequent calls went unanswered.
One of the officers described Nkuna as “very arrogant”. The policewoman accused her of demanding R2 500 to approve her promotion to a senior position she had applied for, despite the fact that she was the successful interviewee.
When she refused, Nkuna “withheld the post” and threatened to “apply career-limiting strategies to ensure that I don’t grow”.
At one point, Nkuna had allegedly borrowed R1 500 from the officer and took her sunglasses but failed to pay her back or return the item.
Another officer alleged Nkuna started borrowing lunch and transport money from her in 2010 “under the false pretence she will reimburse me”. She claimed Nkuna owed her R7 500 for purchases, including clothing, refreshments and a camping chair.
When the officer applied for a senior post in 2014, Nkuna told her she would process “my application form on condition that what she owes me should be settled”.
She refused and wrote to the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) calling for an investigation into Nkuna’s conduct.
They also lodged an internal grievance with Brigadier Sam Shitlabane, the provincial head of the Protection and Security Service division. He is seen as being close to Nkuna.
After he failed to act, they approached a grievance officer, who has since become another of Nkuna’s victims.
Nkuna started victimising the three officers by declining their applications for leave, “soft-locking” their work phones, intercepting their emails and “monitoring our movements”.
Their names in the daily register were also cancelled with a red pen to reflect they were not at work.
The grievance officer was intimidated, had his salary unlawfully frozen for two months and received a transfer letter.
He successfully challenged the matter in the high court in Pretoria.
In a letter dated May 7, 2015, Shitlabane ordered the grievance officer’s access to the division’s building “must, with immediate effect, be terminated”.
Popcru told Shitlabane in a letter in July 2014 that it viewed the allegations against Nkuna in “a very serious light, because they are malicious and damaging the image of SAPS... (Nkuna) is abusing her position and as such cannot be left tolerated/unattended”.
The union demanded a full investigation into Nkuna’s conduct and the allegations against her.
The officers said they had opened charges of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice against Nkuna and the matter had been referred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate in June last year.
However, the directorate’s acting spokesman Robbie Raburabu said it would not investigate the matter, as it fell outside their mandate.
Shitlabane refused to answer questions on Nkuna and instead referred them to acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane.
Repeated attempts to get comment from police communications head Brigadier Selvy Mohlala were in vain.
Last month, Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Deliwe de Lange came under fire for allegedly playing a role in the promotion of controversial policewoman Janet Basson from brigadier to major-general, despite the fact that she was facing charges of perjury, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
@luyolomkentane
The Star