Johannesburg - Two former national police commissioners have taken on top cop Riah Phiyega in her fight with suspended crime intelligence head Major-General Chris Ngcobo.
The submission of statements by former national police commissioner Bheki Cele, his predecessor Tim Williams and Gary Kruser, the ex-head of procurement in the SAPS, has provided a twist in the disciplinary hearing of Ngcobo over his qualifications.
Their statements contradict Phiyega’s own about Ngcobo’s qualifications.
Ngcobo, who was acting crime intelligence head, was suspended last October for discrepancies in his qualifications.
Phiyega’s spokesman, Solomon Makgale, was unable to explain the discrepancies in Ngcobo’s qualifications this week.
He said: “SAPS doesn’t conduct disciplinary matters through the media.”
Last year, when Ngcobo was placed on special leave, Phiyega released a statement saying: “During a vetting process, discrepancies were found between the declaration made by Major-General Chris Ngcobo and official records pertaining to his qualifications.
“Major-General Ngcobo, Acting Divisional Commissioner of Crime Intelligence, has so far failed to satisfactorily explain the discrepancies. His top secret security clearance was therefore denied.
“As such, I placed him on special leave yesterday and instructed that criminal investigations and disciplinary action against him be initiated. I want to ensure that this matter is dealt with swiftly.”
But affidavits by Cele, Williams and Kruser confirmed that Ngcobo, as a former MK combatant commissioned into the police in 1994, was not required to possess or produce a matric certificate or any qualifications to qualify for employment when the integrated police force was established.
“I was fully aware that Major-General Ngcobo did not possess a matric qualification when I promoted him from the rank of brigadier in 2010,” Cele said in his affidavit.
He added: “The decision to promote Major-General Ngcobo was taken after careful consideration of, inter alia, his personal expertise in the area of VIP protection, including information and threat analysis, his outstanding levels of professionalism as well as his vast command and leadership experience.”
Williams, a retired acting police commissioner who took over from disgraced police boss Jackie Selebi after he was placed on special leave, also stated under oath that a matric certificate or academic qualifications was not a requirement during the amalgamation process in 1994 and 1995.
His affidavit read: “A matric certificate as a basic qualification requirement for the SAPs was officially waived in consultation with the then national commissioner, JG Fivaz, and Minister Sydney Mufamadi, for all Non-Statutory Force (NSF) members, both from the ANC and the PAC into the establishment of the SAPS.”
He added: “I would therefore like to confirm that all his enlistment, placing, ranking and promotions were considered on the platform of experience, training, skills and knowledge only.”
Ngcobo and Mondli Zuma are alleged to be on an infamous hit list of officers that police management wanted to get rid of.
Also on the list was the late Lieutenant-General Sean Tshabalala, the divisional commissioner of the inspectorate which monitors service delivery and investigates complaints against officers.
Tshabalala was found dead in his office in December last year.
According to a dossier that he allegedly penned in the months before his death, he informed Phiyega three weeks before he died that one of her deputies was harassing him over a nepotism and corruption investigation he was doing.
Phiyega has dismissed the validity of the list.
Sunday Independent