Outcry erupts over dismissal of 'people’s general' Jeremy Vearey

He was charged with bringing the police service into disrepute with eight Facebook posts between December 2020 and February 2021 containing links to media reports. Picture: Gareth Smit/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

He was charged with bringing the police service into disrepute with eight Facebook posts between December 2020 and February 2021 containing links to media reports. Picture: Gareth Smit/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Published Jun 1, 2021

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Cape Town - An outcry has followed the dismissal of the Western Cape’s head of detectives Jeremy Vearey after he was found guilty of misconduct over “disrespectful” posts on social media.

Vearey’s Facebook posts were allegedly aimed at National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole. He was charged with bringing the police service into disrepute with eight Facebook posts between December 2020 and February 2021 containing links to media reports.

Most of those referred to disciplinary charges against former crime intelligence boss Peter Jacobs who, is in an ongoing battle with Sitole, and recently won a Labour Court interdict halting a disciplinary process related to the killing of former Anti-Gang Unit commander Charl Kinnear.

Police spokesperson Vish Naidoo confirmed that a sanction of dismissal imposed on Vearey was endorsed by Sitole on Friday.

Cape Flats Safety Forum (CFSF) chairperson Abbie Isaacs said they have noted with concern the dismissal of Vearey, and that whenever, there was a vacant post in the Western Cape, and the best person that they know would be the correct one for the job, there was always an issue.

"Remember, there is a provincial commissioner post that is vacant in the province, which is not yet filled. We know that Vearey would be the best candidate for that post," said Isaacs.

He said the police have denied Vearey a freedom of speech. "Yes, we understand that there is internal process and regulations, but they have denied an individual within their ranks the freedom of speech."

"As the Cape Flats, we are going to go all out to mobilise the communities to support Vearey," said Isaacs.

Whistle-blower and community activist Colin Arendse said since the former uMkhonto weSizwe cadres joined the police service, they have been targeted by the corrupt Nats and the DA who replaced them.

"While police management focus on Facebook posts as victims of crime on the Cape Flats are held to ransom by gangs and drug lords, the people’s general Vearey will survive this latest onslaught – just like he has before," said Arendse.

In 2017, Vearey and Peter Jacobs successfully challenged their transfers from the provincial office where both were deputy provincial commissioners to respectively head up the Cape Town and Wynberg police clusters.

Naidoo said Vearey was subjected to a disciplinary process following social media posts he made of messages and images between late last year and earlier this year and caused the same to be circulated via the social media network.

"Some of the messages were directed at the national commissioner and contained words that were considered derogatory, offensive, insulting and disrespectful to the commissioner thus bringing the commissioner and the police service into disrepute," he said.

He said those actions were considered a misconduct in terms of the Police Disciplinary Regulations and therefore warranted a departmental action.

SACP provincial secretary Benson Ngqentsu said for them it was not simply a matter of labour relations between the employer and employee.

“This was because a dismissal of such a high-ranking and distinguished officer had implications for stability and law enforcement capacity to fight crime effectively.”

Ngqentsu said the decision unfortunately had all the hallmarks of an orchestrated, pernicious witch-hunt that had destabilised the police leadership in the province with dire consequences for crime-fighting capacity.

"In labour relations terms the matter with respect to General Vearey’s dismissal can be viewed as akin to premeditated dismissal using the dispute procedures to tick the procedural compliance tick box,“ said Ngqentsu.

He said Vearey’s resolute stance on malfeasance and corruption was evidently not welcomed by the discredited law enforcement leadership.

“The use of Vearey’s commentary on social media as a pretext to institute disciplinary action is nothing other than acting in a despotic strongman manner inconsistent with our constitutional values and Bill of Rights,” he said.

Community safety standing committee chairperson Reagan Allen has called on the police management to repress apparent factional battles to prevent the latest internal disciplinary development from stifling crime-fighting initiatives in the province.

Allen said Vearey’s dismissal followed an expeditious disciplinary hearing after an ongoing public spat regarding matters of misconduct which brought other members and the police brand into disrepute, yet again.

“We cannot allow any such internal disputes or the police management issues to further impact on the state of crime in the Western Cape,” he said.

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SAPSCrime and courts