DURBAN - THE trial of the former head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, Kamlash Dalip Singh, also known as KD, will resume in January, much to his dismay.
Singh, who has resigned from the SAPS, was arrested in his office in December 2020 and was out on bail. On Wednesday he appeared on charges of corruption in the Durban Regional Court.
Singh was allegedly approached by the complainant in a case of theft, which was under investigation by Singh’s unit. The complainant allegedly requested a progress report in the case. He was allegedly informed that something was wrong with the case. Singh allegedly promised to assist the complainant on condition that he was paid a gratification of R5 000 for Christmas.
An undercover operation was conducted in which officers swooped in at his office, where he was allegedly caught red-handed after accepting cash from the complainant.
Singh has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Nhlakanipho Mzulwini said a captain in the SAPS was unavailable to testify in court on Wednesday because he was busy.
Mzulwini said he needed time to prepare his heads of argument. He also had trials and matters in other courts that took up a considerable amount of his time.
Attorney Anand Nepaul said the State should have been better prepared because the accusations against his client had serious consequences, and were hanging over his head. He said the delay also prejudiced his client financially.
Magistrate Dawn Somaroo said the prosecutor needed to be more prepared and postponed the matter to January 21.
Outside court Singh said he would have liked to put the matter to bed before Christmas, describing the investigation as a witch-hunt.
In Singh’s statement that was handed to the court in October, he said he had an unblemished career having been employed in the service for 36 years, and had been appointed to various high-ranking positions.
These included the commander of the detective branches, the Serious Crime Unit of the detective branch Phoenix, the assistant to the area head for detectives of Durban North, the commander of the Durban North area task team and the head of the KZN Anti-Corruption Unit.
The corruption unit was established in 2014 with a small number of police officers to tackle corruption, primarily within the government and police.
At the time he was the head of the uMlazi detective branch, and toward the end of 2019, Singh was contacted to head up the Anti-Corruption Unit because he had the necessary experience.
He said that in 2020 he headed an investigation into irregularities, corruption and fraud involving the police garages in Eshowe and Ulundi, and on December 15, 2020, he discussed and planned the arrest of the suspects. Singh said that prior to meeting the unit members on the morning of December 21 he had received information that resulted in a decision not to effect the arrests on that day as planned.
Singh said that between December 17 and 21 he had become the victim of a false complaint, an entrapment in which he was questioned by police officers, some of whom he had previously worked with.
He added that he felt the search of, and seizure from, his office and arrest and being charged were all unlawful.
“Due to the above, I felt terribly humiliated and cheated, resulting in an irretrievable breakdown of trust with the SAPS. I was falsely implicated and plead not guilty.”
In Singh’s objection to the admissibility of evidence, he stated that there was no urgency in effecting an undercover operation/entrapment without the authority and approval of the director of public prosecutions for KZN.
Singh said the police had acted maliciously in failing to undertake any investigation in regard to the complaint made against the accused before making the application.
“They failed to take steps to establish any reasonable or probable cause for an entrapment.”
His second objection was that the police breached his right to a fair trial by obtaining evidence from him illegally in the initial questioning.
His third objection was unlawful search and seizure, where the police did not have a search warrant.
Daily News