KZN Hawks deputy arrested

DURBAN:290709 Joining hands after yesterday’s awards are, from left, Superintendent Willie Olivier of the Durban organised crime unit, Senior Superintendent Simon Madonsela of the provincial political task team and the provincial director of the organised crime unit, Johan Booysens. Picture: Zanele Zulu PICTURE: ZANELE ZULU

DURBAN:290709 Joining hands after yesterday’s awards are, from left, Superintendent Willie Olivier of the Durban organised crime unit, Senior Superintendent Simon Madonsela of the provincial political task team and the provincial director of the organised crime unit, Johan Booysens. Picture: Zanele Zulu PICTURE: ZANELE ZULU

Published Mar 26, 2015

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Durban - The deputy head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal was arrested in his Durban office by a dozen heavily armed national intervention unit policemen on Wednesday on charges relating to a R28 000 corruption case – a crime allegedly committed five years ago.

However, a source said the charges were trumped up and that Simon Madonsela was being punished for his role in leading an investigation of the former national head of police crime intelligence, Richard Mdluli.

The arrest came in the same week that the Pretoria High Court found that acting Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza lacked integrity, lied under oath and showed contemptuous disregard for the law. He is appealing against the finding.

It also brings the dramatic meltdown of South Africa’s major crime-fighting bodies to KwaZulu-Natal.

The Hawks, the Independent Police Complaints Directorate and the National Prosecuting Authority are embroiled in a political battle that the Institute for Security Studies said was hampering their ability to fight serious crime.

On Wednesday, Madonsela was handcuffed in front of colleagues at his Bram Fischer (Ordnance) Road office while policemen in military-style gear stood by. He later appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes court and was released on R5 000 bail.

He is accused of soliciting the bribe from the family of a woman who went missing eight years ago.

His attorney, Johan Jooste, was furious, saying the manner of the arrest “embarrassed” his client.

Magistrate Logan Naidoo also blasted the vigour of the arrest, saying it “smacked of an agenda” and “a summons would have sufficed”.

Jooste said: “We saw no need to have him arrested. We believe that there are other forces at play.”

He indicated that Madonsela would plead not guilty.

State prosecutor Abey Letsola did not oppose bail.

The charge sheet said Madonsela was approached by the family of the missing woman to assist in solving the case. The offer was apparently made by “Mr Mohammed Samudh Shaik and/or Mr Ismail Jabur Shaik”. He allegedly demanded a R40 000 bribe, but a R28 000 counter-offer was allegedly made and accepted.

The payment was made in two sums – R25 000 on September 21, 2010, and R3 000 on October 4, 2011.

In court on Wednesday, Jooste demanded he be shown a copy of the founding affidavit and all documents relating to the case.

 

Naidoo agreed, saying he was entitled to the documents.

“I requested a copy and it wasn’t given to me. I want the court to note that I want the copy of that warrant … plus the founding affidavit upon which the warrant of arrest is based … I want it today,” Jooste said. “This has been back and forth to prosecutors for quite some time now.”

He demanded that Letsola confirm that he would get full access to all the evidence. Letsola expressed shock at Jooste’s request, saying he understood that any document requested by the attorney would be made available through proper channels.

 

The charges against Madonsela were confirmed by the Hawks’ acting head, Ntlemeza.

The case of the missing person is still unresolved.

“The angry family reported the matter at the Chatsworth police station in February this year,” he said.

Ntlemeza said the officer was being accused of “a serious atrocity”.

“I have said, and we say it again, that no DPCI (Hawks) official is above the law,” he said.

A source with knowledge of the investigation of the woman’s disappearance said her brother had continuously made allegations that it was not being handled properly and suspected corruption, and because of this, the docket had been given to about four different investigating officers. “Before the docket went to Madonsela, the brother made claims that officers were taking money”.

Then in March last year, he alleged that Madonsela had met a close associate of the woman in Pinetown and had taken R100 000 from him.

This allegation was also made in an article in The New Age. An investigation was done and state advocate Yuri Ganghai declined to prosecute. In September last year, Madonsela was required to undergo an integrity check and another advocate in the Director of Public Prosecutions office confirmed there was no evidence to charge him. Another source said Madonsela had not been asked for his version. The present charges were laid in February.

The matter was adjourned to April 9.

In 2012 Madonsela, 53, was tasked with the investigation of R5 million lost in the crime intelligence unit’s slush fund. Mdluli was fingered as the main culprit.

The Mercury

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