Johannesburg - It was a slippery tweet that cost a police officer his job.
Former Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela has been fired, apparently for a Vaseline tweet he made seven months ago.
“The officer was dismissed on March 27, 2013 and the internal appeals authority confirmed same,” Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said in a written response to a question by DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard in Parliament this week.
“The officer was paid R323 238.41 during the period he was on suspension.”
There was no indication of whether the dismissal was connected to the tweet. Polela declined to comment on Wednesday.
In October, he tweeted: “I trust Jub Jub’s supporters gave him a jar of Vaseline to take to prison,” after Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and his friend were convicted of murder for killing four youngsters and severely injuring two others while racing their cars in a Soweto street while high on drugs.
The tweet was regarded as a reference to the widespread problem of male rape in jail, and sparked outrage particularly as Polela was the spokesman for the specialised Hawks policing unit at the time.
Polela quickly apologised, and the remark was removed, but he was soon suspended. His position was unclear until the minister’s reply this week.
The Star