Johannesburg - A case of corruption and defeating the ends of justice has been opened against Hawks boss Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza after a docket against a Limpopo police officer mysteriously went missing.
The case was opened at Silverton police station in Pretoria last week by Limpopo-based Lieutenant Boitumelo Ramahlaha - the same officer who opened a case of defeating the ends of justice against the head of the Hawks last year.
The initial docket has been placed on the desk of Deputy NationalDirector of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba to make a decision on whether to prosecute.
Ramahlaha, in the defeating the ends of justice docket opened earlier, accused Ntlemeza of ignoring a complaint against Thomas Rallele, a former police captain at Polokwane police station who was allegedly romantically linked to Ntlemeza’s daughter.
Rallele was caught red-handed with a cellphone stolen during an armed robbery and defrauding the police by falsifying vehicle logs.
Ramahlaha investigated Rallele and reported the misconduct to Ntlemeza, who was at the time the deputy provincial commissioner for Limpopo, but he allegedly ignored the complaint.
Ramahlaha then opened the case of defeating the ends of justice against Ntlemeza for failing to pursue the case.
In turn, the Hawks charged Ramahlaha for intimidation against Ntlemeza in December last year, and with another case of fraud for allegedly introducing a fake police officer, a Captain Mailula, to the Seshego station commander as a police captain from the national head office.
Mailula was actually convicted criminal Alex Matsobane Maake and is now serving a 14-year prison sentence at Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria.
The trial for the intimidation charge against Ramahlaha was set to start in the Seshego Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday, but The Star understands that the case could not go ahead because the docket had disappeared.
Sources close to the investigation have confirmed that it was announced in court on Wednesday that the docket had been stolen from a police vehicle parked at the Hawks offices parking lot.
It’s understood that Ramahlaha opened the corruption and the defeating the ends of justice case based on his theory that the docket was stolen to prevent the intimidation trial from going ahead. This was allegedly so that Ntlemeza would not be called to testify against the officer and face a potentially incriminating cross-examination.
Queries about the missing docket sent to the National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman of Limpopo on Thursday have so far gone unanswered.
On Thursday, Ramahlaha was spotted at Silverton police station opening the case of corruption and defeating the ends of justice - not just against Ntlemeza, but the entire task team involved in his case.
Ramahlaha’s attorney Matomo Moloto said: “I can confirm that my client Lieutenant Ramahlaha has indeed registered yet another serious case against Lieutenant-General Ntlemeza and his task team. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
When approached while walking out of Silverton police station, Ramahlaha said: “Policy does not allow me to speak to the media.”
Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi shrugged off the opening of the new case against Ntlemeza.
“He can open a case, that’s his right. But we are getting annoyed at all his cases. Why is he targeting the general when the general is not investigating the case. Why is he wasting his time?”
The Star