Cape Town - An investigation indicates that four senior Western Cape cops, including provincial commissioner Arno Lamoer, “accepted the gratifications in circumstances where their salaries were insufficient to sustain their expenses”.
A draft indictment of 116 pages stated that businessman Mohamed Dawjee, who is accused of bribing police and using his relationship with Lamoer and the brigadiers to promote his own interests, and his son Mohamed Zameer Dawjee, gave money to the police officers
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Dawjee had been the sole registered member of Towbars Cape and Towbars King until December 2013, when his son took over Towbars Cape. The indictment said as a private businessman, Dawjee did not have an official position within the police.
“Nevertheless, (Dawjee) was apparently interested in ensuring efficient service from the SAPS, as he saw it, on his terms and for his private benefit…
“Accordingly, he required that SAPS officials with whom he interacted should perform their duties as he, and not they, saw fit.”
It was suspected, according to the draft indictment, that from around November 2011 the police officers accepted nearly R1.5 million, made via 43 unauthorised payments.
The draft states that Dawjee and his son gave money to the police officers “in circumstances where they could ill-afford giving them”.
A financial investigation launched into Lamoer and the three brigadiers said the rental of cars used by Lamoer, the Govenders, and their families, had been paid for, as had petrol for Van Der Ross, whose golf membership was also sponsored, and the Govenders.
The draft indictment said payments had also been made for maintaining the Govenders’ home pool.
Sharon Govender had received the most at R1 360 713.86, followed by her husband at at R192 260.07.
Van Der Ross received the least at R7 324.60.
The draft indictment said Lamoer and the three brigadiers had not followed protocol and disclosed the “gratifications” they had received.
It said Dawjee had “advertised and relied frequently and expressly on his ‘police connectivity’” – this referred to his close ties with Lamoer and the three brigadiers.
It said relying on his police connections “included threatening, explicitly or impliedly (sic)” police officers with reporting them to Lamoer or the three brigadiers if they did not act as he wished.
The draft listed a number of bribes Dawjee allegedly made.
This included R5 000 allegedly offered to a warrant officer in April 2011 to ensure Dawjee’s friend was granted bail in a Lansdowne case.
The draft indictment said in April last year Dawjee gave Mpumalanga’s provincial police commissioner tickets to the Cape Town Jazz Festival to encourage the commissioner to “arrange official SAPS transport for (Dawjee) when he visited Mpumalanga”.
It said in October 2013, Dawjee, who by then had cottoned on to the probe into him and the top cops, offered R1 000 to the provincial Hawks head to “rein in the investigation” into him and the police.
Another section of the draft indictment said that in February 2012 the Goodwood police station head Hansia Hansraj had picked up something irregular about a police statement dealing with a nephew of Dawjee.
It said days later she warned Dawjee “to stop interfering in police matters”.
Following complaints and communication between Dawjee, Hansraj and Lamoer, and other police, the draft indictment said in December 2013 a man known to police as a 28s gangster visited Hansraj’s office.
Allegedly the gangster, whose firearm was seized after he drew it and made it safe in public, told Hansraj that Van Der Ross had sent him.
“(She) perceived this as a threat.”
The draft indictment said no case had been opened against the gangster and Hansraj opened a defeating the ends of justice against the officers who failed to open a probe into the gangster. It said the gangster was then arrested, but the case docket went missing and Hansraj opened a theft case in relation to the missing docket.
History of the probe
The investigation into provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer’s allegedly corrupt relationship with a Plattekloof businessman started in 2012.
It later emerged that Crime Intelligence was probing Lamoer and other senior Western Cape police officers in relation to allegations of accepting bribes from a businessman.
National police commissioner General Riah Phiyega was then accused of having tipped off Lamoer about the investigation and she, in turn, accused Crime Intelligence of concocting a story to discredit her.
Lamoer and three senior police officers were arrested on Friday, along with the businessman from whom they allegedly received bribes, and his son.
Parties call for suspension of Phiyega after Lamoer’s arrest
Political parties on Friday had varied reactions to the arrest of provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer and three other senior officers, with one expressing dismay and another calling for national commissioner General Riah Phiyega’s suspension.
Cope said it was dismayed that Lamoer and the other top officers were facing court action.
“When our police officers are facing serious charges of corruption and racketeering, we are compelled to ask, ‘Where is our country going?’
“It is very clear that corruption has penetrated all sections of society.”
The Freedom Front Plus called for Phiyega to be suspended. She was investigated previously for defeating the ends of justice for allegedly tipping Lamoer off about the investigation into him, but the National Prosecuting Authority decided not to pursue this.
“In the light of these serious charges against Lamoer, this case and the role which Phiyega played in it should be exposed, and the NPA owes it to the public to play open cards about the investigation.
“When officers in the top management of the police are arrested due to serious crime, and the umpteenth national commissioner is also under suspicion, it is not surprising that the public has no faith in the police,” said Pieter Groenewald, the party’s spokesman.
On Friday national Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said it was not investigating Phiyega.
Phiyega’s office said it was aware of speculation about her following Lamoer’s court appearance.
Weekend Argus