Cape Town - When Jeremy Vearey handed in his application for the post of provincial police commissioner, his documents were checked in a sealed envelope in his presence, but when they were scrutinised by the evaluation panel, certain documents had disappeared.
Now Vearey has objected to the way in which his application was handled, which resulted in his omission from the shortlist.
A source said Vearey had lodged an official complaint to the national police commissioner and acting provincial police commissioner Sindile Mfazi.
Vearey said on Sunday: “Due to the sensitive nature of the matter, I cannot give any comment at this stage.”
According to the source, Vearey has requested intervention to remedy this matter because other candidates have purportedly already been informed that they have been shortlisted.
The Blue Downs cluster commander, Vincent Beaton, appears to be one of the candidates on the list, the source said. “Vearey is of the view that his exclusion from the shortlist is within the knowledge of the DA party, and requested urgent intervention before the matter becomes an embarrassment for the SAPS,” the source said.
ANC Western Cape provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said: “The reason for Vearey’s omission, as I understand it, is that he didn't include his qualifications with his application. This is nonsense. There is no way he would have made such an amateurish slip-up.
“I believe a hidden hand was involved. I would not be surprised if this invisible hand is a DA-friendly one, because that party has been campaigning maliciously to stop Vearey from becoming our province's most senior police officer. This compromised process must be stopped because it has been deliberately sabotaged.”
Cayla Murray, spokesperson for Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz, said: “Please note MEC Fritz does not wish to comment on the matter, and has said process is being followed.”
National police spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo said he was not at liberty to communicate on such processes as they were happening. He added that they would communicate once the process had been finalised.
@TheCapeArgus